Repairs to the roof of the National Aquatic Centre have yet to begin, more than two months after the storm that caused more than €1 million damage to the building.
The management company has expressed its frustration at the delays, with staff being laid off and continuing loss of revenue at the centre, which has Olympic-standard high-diving facilities and a 50m pool.
The management company said yesterday it has been given no indication from the landlords, State company Campus and Stadium Ireland Development, when builders would be appointed and had no idea when it would be able to reopen the centre.
Campus estimates that repairs to the competition pool, which bore the brunt of the damage during the New Year's Day storm, could take up to three months. Dublin Waterworld Ltd, which manages the centre for the Government, said it will likely have to cancel a major international swimming competition in May because the landlord company will not confirm if the pool will be ready. "Nothing is happening. Campus and Stadium Ireland Development has not yet appointed the builders 10 weeks on from the storm and we're at a loss to find out when exactly we'll have a date to open," said Dublin Waterworld director Liam Bohan.
Campus announced on February 14th that it hoped the leisure pool and the gym, which suffered only minor storm damage, would reopen on March 1st. It contacted Dublin Waterworld in recent days to say this would not be possible. However, no further information about the schedule of repairs was forthcoming, Mr Bohan said.
"If they would just make us aware of what is happening, it would be a big help. We need to be able to plan for the future. We are meant to be hosting the National Celtic Masters on the last weekend in May, but I don't think we can go ahead."
The management has had to make 60 staff redundant. "Some of our key people have got other jobs. We can't expect them to sit around and wait."
