Political reaction: Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O'Donoghue has welcomed yesterday's development on the National Aquatic Centre and said that the facility would continue its operation uninterrupted when it is handed back to State company Campus and Stadium Ireland (CSID).
Mr O'Donoghue said he was "very pleased that a very unhappy period in the existence of the National Aquatic Centre is now at an end following a resolution of these matters".
Welcoming the Supreme Court order on the transfer of management from Dublin Waterworld, he said it would enable CSID and the Government to "ensure that this key element of our sporting infrastructure will no longer be embroiled in disputes and we can look forward to a National Aquatic Centre being available for purpose for which it was provided". He assured staff at the centre that their employment contracts would be honoured. "I have directed CSID to arrange an immediate examination of the centre once it comes back under its management. In this way, we can all be reassured that the centre is safe and sound as indeed I believe it is," he added.
However, Labour finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said that questions still remained over the Government's handling of the affair, and she called on the Government to outline specific plans for the centre's future.
"The centre cost €62 million in public funding and up to €23 million in tax breaks to construct," she said. "The financial arrangements that have surrounded the project are bizarre and curious. It's amazing that a company registered offshore in the British Virgin Isles, with only nominal share capital could get its hands on such an important public asset." The centre was conceived as a showcase for water sports in Ireland, Ms Bruton said.