Mr. John Treacy:

Senator O'Mahony asked about the list. To my recollection, rugby league and an ice skating association have been added to the list in recent times. Cerebral Palsy Sport was on the list but is no longer there because it did not have the critical mass of people necessary - it did not have the volunteers and ran into some financial issues - so responsibility for that has been taken on by the Paralympics Association in terms of boccia players.

We work very closely with Sport Northern Ireland on the high performance side and are aligned in terms of the investment in that area. Sport Northern Ireland is very much in tune with ourselves in that respect. That is critical; sometimes the investment from both bodies helps to fill the gaps in terms of key personnel in the high performance system. We have lost some ground in terms of high performance. We were investing at the correct level around 2011 and 2012, but we are losing ground because we have not been able to increase that investment while other countries have. That is a critical piece for us. Mr. McDermott and I have put together a document. We believe that we should be investing around €17 million in the high performance system. We are probably investing around €10 million in it currently, based on information from the Sport Ireland Institute. To kick on in terms of high performance that is the level of investment that is required. We cannot invest in every world championships due to the level of investment required. We have to do what every other country does and choose our high performance sports, which are very much geared towards the Olympic Games and the Paralympics and invest in those, because we do not have the resources to spread the jam too thickly.

The campus has made a huge difference, and I am delighted that this committee has visited it in recent times. It is there for everyone, is a real sporting hub, and it is really important. The institute is available for our elite people. Even this morning, when we made our carding scheme announcement, our elite people were there. They all know each other now, which adds to the team spirit when the Olympics come around. Rather than working in silos, as had been the case previously, they all now know each other. For the smaller national governing bodies it makes a huge difference. The Judo Irish Open was held there last weekend. A major fencing tournament and a gymnastics event also took place recently. We now have events that the national governing bodies are proud to bring other international federations to compete in. That is due to the real investment in Irish sport in recent times. Some strides have been made, but we really do need investment in current funding.