A new £500,000 national water sports centre to be built in Bally shannon, Co Donegal, will be used for coaching of top-level athletes and will also serve as a training centre for coastal lifeguards.
The Minister for Sport, Dr McDaid, has allocated £150,000 to the centre, which will be used as a training base by a number of sporting organisations, including the Irish Surfing Association and the Irish Canoe Union.
The project has been headed by a local development company, Erne Enterprise, which was set up three years ago when local business people came together to try to foster an enterprise culture in Ballyshannon. EU and International Fund for Ireland assistance has also been secured for the centre.
The chief executive of Erne Enterprise, Cllr Barney McLaughlin, said he believed that in the long term up to 20 jobs could be created. The centre will open with a full-time staff of four and the various sporting organisations will supply coaches and trainers.
A gymnasium, seminar room and additional facilities will be built at the existing Lakeside Centre in the town. A 25-metre swimming pool which opened two years ago will also be used.
Training provided at the centre will vary from weekend courses to four-month programmes and the Institute of Technology in Letterkenny will provide accreditation for some courses.
Mr Brian Britton, a local hotelier who is also a director of Erne Enterprise and president of the Irish Surfing Association, said it was hoped that, within 10 years, the centre would be recognised as a school of excellence.
In Europe, he said, the north-west coast of Ireland was seen as a "water sports paradise". European Surfing Championships were held in the north-west in 1995 and 1997 and the region is also being promoted to host the World Surfing Championships in 2004.
Donegal County Council and the National Safety Council have also supported the centre.