Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

Both the Irish Sports Council and the Olympic Council of Ireland conducted reviews of the performance of Team Ireland at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The commissioning of these reviews is a matter for both organisations in the context of their roles in supporting Irish elite athletes. The Irish Sports Council, which is funded by my Department, has statutory responsibility for encouraging the promotion, development and co-ordination of competitive sport and the achievement of excellence in competitive sport. The Olympic Council of Ireland is the agency responsible for the organisation and participation of the Irish team at the Olympic Games and is a member of the International Olympic Committee, the organisation governing the Olympic movement worldwide. The Irish Sports Council provides annual funding to the Olympic Council for administration and programme costs aimed specifically at meeting costs related to attendance at the games.

I recently completed a series of meetings with a number of the key stakeholders involved in the support of our elite athletes, including the Irish Sports Council and the Olympic Council of Ireland, to discuss how we can best build on the success we had in Beijing and the supports required in terms of coaching, programmes, facilities and funding to ensure the optimum performance of Irish athletes at the London Olympic Games in 2012. It is my intention that the issues arising from these meetings and the reviews carried out by both organisations will inform the high-performance strategy for the London games. This should ensure there is an integrated approach between all stakeholders.

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