Success
in Northern Ireland
Story taken from Ulster Star 10/09/04 - Copyright
Ulster Star
LISBURN Council’s Leisure Services Committee
this week sensationally voted to overturn controversial regulations
that limit the number of young children parents can take to the
swimming pool at the Lagan Valley LeisurePlex. Since legal advice
received earlier this year, the LeisurePlex has been operating arrangements
that mean a strict ratio of one parent to one child applies to the
admission of children up to three years old.
But Adrienne Bell, a spokesperson for the UK
‘Right to Swim’ group, made a presentation at Tuesday
night’s Leisure Services meeting and outlined why the admission
policy is unfair on families.
As the arrangements stand, a family will be turned
away if just one parent accompanies two children, if one of them
is under the age of four.
A less stringent regulation of two children to
one parent applies for children between four and seven years old.
However, a parent with three children between four and seven is
also refused admission. Following the presentation DUP Councillor
Jonathan Craig proposed the council disregard the guidelines and
he was seconded by Seamus Close of Alliance.
The committee voted 6-4 in favour of Mr. Craig’s
proposal. But the arrangement has still to be ratified by the full
council at the end of the month and no changes will be made until
then. "I welcome the fact the Leisure Services Committee have
seen sense with this policy," said Mr. Craig.
"All the councillors on the committee
have received numerous complaints about this and personally I’ve
seen people turned away from the pool and their children in tears.
"For someone to label this a health
and safety issue is misleading the public. The reality is that health
and safety at the LeisurePlex is second to none and we don’t
need draconian measures like this.
"Parents are more than capable of
looking after their children and if not, then we have excellent
fully-qualified staff to look after them." Mr. Craig pointed
out there are no restrictions in place at swimming pools in Banbridge,
Belfast and Antrim.
"These measures were introduced in
Belfast and within a few months they were reversed after the shocking
and adverse reaction they received," he added.
"My wife can’t take our two
children to Lagan Valley LeisurePlex but she can bring them to Banbridge,
Antrim or any pool in Belfast. What can be more absurd than that?"
Mr. Close said the vote had been a ‘clear demonstration’
of the feeling among Leisure Services measures.
"I hope that common sense now spreads
through the council," he said. "I hope Lisburn council
will stop discriminating against its ratepayers and against single
parents.
"This policy is a total nonsense.
We shouldn’t become a nation of wimps regarding our children,
wrapping them in cotton wool and mollycoddling them. The way things
are going, children going to play football will have to dress up
like Michelin men in case they damage themselves."
If you feel strongly about this issue or if it
has affected you, then please contact us to get involved with events.
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