Determined parents will not let politicans off the hook

Determined parents will not let politicans off the hook

3 June 2015

COUNCILLORS were forced to wade their way through a deep picket-line at the doors of Downpatrick’s council buildings on Monday night as they made their way to a meeting where the future of private swimming lessons was to be decided.

The large group of parents and children had gathered to demonstrate against a council clamp-down on private swimming lessons at Down Leisure Centre, which includes a new £4.80 tax for children entering the leisure centre for lessons with private tutors.

The move has been defended by the new super council as a means of levelling the pricing structure at its facilities across the wider council area with officers explaining the new fee is designed to recover revenue the council believes will be lost to it if private lessons continue unchanged.

But parents and swimming teachers have warned that higher charges will deter people from learning to swim, while placing impossible pressure on council-run lessons which are already oversubscribed.

They are concerned the move will prevent children around the coast from learning the life-saving skill, or penalise parents who continue to invest in that skill.

The group was rallied by parents connected to an online campaign to secure the future of affordable lessons, which has attracted the support of almost 900 people.

Alisa Keane, from Ballykinlar, helped co-ordinate the lobby, which she said was arranged to emphasise the level of opposition to additional swim charges.

Mrs Keane said she was delighted by the turnout at the picket-line and by the support of many councillors who stopped to chat to the parents about their concerns.

She said there was anger among parents that the council had attempted to “slip through” the changes to charges in the first meetings of the amalgamated council without any consultation.

“The number of people at the picket line shows the level of opposition to these changes and we are delighted to hear the decision has now been put back for a month,” she said.

“There is a feeling that such high charges are not fair and at least this gives us the opportunity to express our views.

“Sinn Fein had been determined to push this through but certainly at last night’s meeting, they have shown they are making a turn-around.”

Aurla McLaughlin, who attended a recent private meeting between swimming teachers and council officers to discuss the changes, said she hoped common sense would now prevail.

“There has been a lot of miscommunication and lack of information around this whole process,” she said.

“I understand that we are going through a process of levelling up and I agree with that but only if the facilities are the same.

“Why should the prices of Downpatrick’s 35 year-old swimming pool be brought up to the prices of Newry’s brand new £8m pound facility?

“Newry also has better opening hours and early opening three mornings per week. If you are talking about parity, it has to be parity across the board, not just in terms of money. That is ridiculous.

“Quite clearly the council cannot sustain what it is attempting to do in Newry by offering only public lessons. The waiting lists of around 600 in Newry show this is not working, the council cannot meet the demand so it needs to learn from that mistake and not try to implement the same mistakes here.

“The council has a strategy about encouraging support and activity, yet this is creating barriers to that and by creating barriers it is not fulfilling that very strategy.”