The planned White Water Rafting Centre in Dublin has won the support of tourism and sporting organisations as the city council prepares to make a new funding application for the controversial project.
The council has already asked for expressions of interest for the €25 million project which is planned for Georges Dock in the IFSC.
Both Sport Ireland and the Olympic Federation of Ireland say they will support a funding application as it would offer the country's only training facility for the Olympic sport of canoe slalom.
Fáilte Ireland also said it will support the development as it will "add to the range of things to see and do in Dublin Docklands and has the potential to become a motivating visitor experiences playing an important role in encouraging visitors to stay longer in the area".
Dublin Fire Brigade also supports the project as it will offer a training facility for Swift Water Rescue.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
However, many politicians and commentators have been scathing in their criticism of the plan.
Councillors are now opposed to the facility despite voting in favour of it in December 2019, even though the cost had already risen from €12 million to €23 million.
A council official said at the time that the cost increase was due to design changes.
Chair of the North City Area Committee, Independent Cllr Christy Burke, initially supported the project because of the potential for local community employment and participation.
However, he said he was "sold a pup" as he does not believe the fire brigade need it as a training centre.
Cllr Burke said he believes the idea is being pushed by tourism interests, saying "it should be taken off the table, we're in the middle of a pandemic".
Dublin City Council Chief Executive Owen Keegan has defended the project saying it could provide "innovative participation" for the local community and that most cities in Europe have such a facility, including one on a similar site in Cardiff.
Mr Keegan said a final decision will be made when the expressions of interest come back with a definite construction bill in three or four months' time.
An application for government funding will then be made if the project is considered viable.
A previous application for the project to Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund in January 2020 was not successful but it is understood that support of sporting bodies had not been sought for it then.
