Dublin City Council to raise sports centre fees as maintenance and staffing costs eat into budget
Dublin City Council (DCC) is set to raise membership fees for all 13 of its sports and recreation centres by around 5pc.
Increasing usage of the facilities combined with a spike in inflation over the last few years, meant a price increase was necessary to offset maintenance and staffing costs, it said.
All-weather pitches are exempt from the price increases for now, with this decision to be revisited once a full pricing review is complete.
The list of affected centres includes large, high-traffic facilities such as Ballyfermot, Ballymun, Finglas and the Markievicz Centre.
DCC is proposing to increase the monthly direct debit cost of these centres from €34 to €36, while upfront costs would rise from €54 to €57.
Three-month memberships are also increasing from €102 to €107, while six-month options will go from €180 to €190.
Per visit costs are also set to rise, from €7.65 to €8.50 for a swim, and from €8.65 to €9.50 for access to the gym and a swim.
Discounted rates are available to social welfare recipients, over 60s and DCC staff, along with other groups.
In a report to DCC’s Community, Gaeilge, Sport, Arts and Culture Strategic Policy Committee, DCC’s executive manager of recreation, David Dinnigan, said the last blanket price increase for the centres was proposed in 2019.
He said the council was always balancing the high standards expected of DCC facilities against the need to charge “affordable and fair” prices to the public.
“The city council’s approach and offering has resulted in a significant growth in users and memberships, with consequent increases in running costs in terms of pool chemical treatments, water usage, energy usage and staffing,” he said.
Mr Dinnigan said inflation had risen by 26.3pc since 2019, which had strained the council’s sport centre budget, with commensurate staffing cost increases also weighing heavily on the bottom line.
Staff wages accounted for 60pc of last year’s sports centre budget, he added.
DCC said that even with the increases, pricing would remain “extremely competitive” with private gyms, providing a table which showed they would still be cheaper than four other city centre gyms.
The increased pricing will be introduced on a phased basis to all 13 of DCC’s sports facilities over the coming months.
The full list of DCC sports and fitness centres where prices will increase are:
Ballybough Community, Youth and Fitness Centre
Ballyfermot Sports and Fitness Centre
Cabra Parkside Community Sports Centre
St Catherine’s Community Sports Centre
Swan Leisure in Rathmines, which is owned but not operated by DCC, said it is not included in the latest pricing increases from the council.
It added that it isn’t going to increase prices between now and December, but would be revisiting them next year.