Mr. John Treacy:

The high performance system is delivering improved results due to a number of factors. Our identified or targeted sports national governing bodies are capable of delivering sustained and repeated success at international level. Each sport has a dedicated high performance function which is led by a performance director. The Irish Sports Council's high performance unit provides support to the sport. Funding is in two major blocks, performance planning and international carding scheme. The Institute of Sport, which is an operational unit of the council, provides high quality services to sports and athletes.

There is an all-island dimension to this in that we work closely with our counterparts in Sport Northern Ireland the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland. A number of our sports are pursued on an all-island basis and Olympians who compete for Ireland can receive dual funding from both bodies. We have also established operational agreements and functioning working groups with the Olympic Council of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland.

A high performance committee provides strategic overview of this system. Senator Eamonn Coghlan chaired this committee throughout the London cycle and I thank him for his outstanding contribution. Funding decisions are taken by the board of the Irish Sports Council.

The council uses four key mechanisms to improve the system.

All investment and activity in high-performance sport is based on the fundamental ethical foundation of clean sport. The Irish Sports Council operates the Irish sport anti-doping programme and is very proud that it is acknowledged as one of the best in the world. This reputation is hard-earned and should give reassurance to the sports family and wider community of the integrity of Irish athletes.

The first mechanism is the performance planning system. The designated high-performance sports, such as athletics, boxing and sailing, receive funding to implement their performance plans. These plans, devised and implemented by each sport's performance director, are agreed with the Irish Sports Council and the Irish Institute of Sport and, if it applies, with Sport Northern Ireland. They are detailed and technical documents which set out the full range of activities in the area of high performance in a given year across all disciplines and age ranges. To date, 16 sports bodies have been allocated €5.5 million to support their performance plans in 2013.

The second mechanism is the international carding scheme, which is the mechanism of direct funding to athletes. Funding is allocated across a number of sports under various categories based on agreed performance criteria. This direct funding allows athletes train and compete at the highest level required on the international stage. In 2013, 86 athletes will receive funding totalling €1.7 million.

Third, the Irish Institute of Sport provides sports science and medicine services to high-performance athletes and sports. Based at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown, the institute develops performance systems, provides science and medical support and is actively engaged in the development of the people engaged in high-performance sport in Ireland. This is critical to ensuring Irish athletes do not have to leave the country but can get the best services here in Ireland. We believe the institute made a major contribution in the last four years and will continue to drive improvements in the Irish system. In 2012 the institute delivered more than 2,000 hours of direct service to 166 athletes from 18 sports and provided more than 10,000 hours in the field working with athletes, coaches and national governing bodies.

Fourth, the council supports the work of the Olympic Council of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland. In 2013 the two bodies receive grants of €412,000 and €910,000 respectively. Above and beyond that, the working relationship between the agencies, as Mr. Mulvey and Mr. Hickey said, has never been better. Paralympics Ireland is not present today, but I acknowledge the excellence of its work in the preparation of its athletes for London 2012. It has been observed that the London games brought Paralympic sport into the mainstream and it has taken up a permanent place in the affections of the Irish public. We hope and believe that is true. Paralympics Ireland, both administrators and athletes, make a major contribution to the development of the global movement and we are very proud of that achievement.

London 2012 was the culmination of many years' work. The team exceeded the long-term targets set for Ireland. Everyone involved was delighted at the standard of performance, not just by the outstanding medal winners but by all the team. It was the best organised Olympic team and that was apparent before, during and after the games. One of the most important issues impacting athletes is how they handle the transition to a regular lifestyle after competing at a high level. This has emerged as major issue for athletes in Ireland, and elsewhere, and has an impact on their performance in sport and, importantly, on their well being in life after sport. The athlete performance transition programme was a major initiative developed by the institute that was launched before the London Games. It was designed to support athletes through the process of qualification, competing and returning from the games. The programme provided post-games support to over 70 Olympic and Paralympic athletes. This included individual and group debriefing, workshops, medical checks and referrals, performance planning and, very importantly, career planning. Many athletes benefitted from the programme and, in our view, it represents a significant advance on what was available in the past.

We are keenly aware of the risks of operating in a four year cycle. Work commenced in 2011 on planning for 2016 so that there would be a seamless transition into the next cycle. There were three key components to that project. First, a new performance planning template was devised. Second, a fundamental review of the international scheme was undertaken. Third, there was a wide-ranging debrief of all the sports that participated in London 2012.

The new performance planning system is in place. It is robust and looks to the medium and long term. The new system sets out plans up to Rio 2016 which has many benefits. Not least, the sports are not involved in a constant exercise of annual planning but can instead look to the long term. By its nature high-performance sport is highly selective and must be which can deliver success. However, it is also open to sports that can devise a compelling plan that can demonstrate potential to compete at Olympic level. The Irish Rugby Football Union, IRFU, plan for women's sevens is an example, and we are working with them in an interesting project to qualify for Rio.

A fundamental root and branch review of the international carding scheme took place. Publication of the review took place in the autumn. The council is committed to the full implementation of the recommendations of the review and that process has commenced. The 2013 scheme was considerably changed from previous editions. The concept of direct athlete funding is retained. However, it will be a more targeted scheme. Crucially, and consistent with the philosophy of a sport-led, performance director-led system, the scheme will transfer to the direct management of the individual sports over time.

The official Debrief from 2012 Olympic Games was published earlier this year. It was prepared by UK consultants on behalf of the Irish Sports Council. It carried out individual debriefs for each of the 15 national governing bodies involved. Some 122 people across the 15 sports were interviewed in the process. It was a very elaborate consultation process. The Olympic Council of Ireland was included in the consultation. Paralympics Ireland carried out its own debrief.

The debrief states that the overall performance in London by the key Irish team was a marked improvement on recent Olympic Games. There is a broad consensus that the development and management of performance sport has improved substantially in recent years and in particular since the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Of particular note were greater sophistication in planning, increased quality of service support and stronger relationships between all the agencies. It was also highlighted that pre-games preparation work improved substantially. Athletes consistently identified the pre-games training camp as having a direct and positive impact on performance. I congratulate the Olympic Council of Ireland for organising that because it was a splendid camp.

The debriefs provide a series of recommendations, both generic for the system and individually for each sport. Again, there is a commitment to the implementation of those recommendations which serve as an operational plan for the next cycle. Clearly, there is a lot of change under way. The system is moving away from an individual athlete and coach funding system. The focus is on a performance director-led system. There has been no rest since London and everyone in the system is working hard to continue to build a sport system that delivers sustainable and repeatable success for Ireland.

Since London 2012 we have witnessed a series of outstanding performances. Many good things are happening in Irish sport. The work requires substantial investment. The support of the committee in securing that investment is greatly appreciated. As we can see, Irish sport delivers a big return on taxpayers' money.