Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is core funding for high performance sports. Cricket Ireland also enjoys the benefits of the Irish Institute of Sport. I was on the board of the Irish Sports Council before I came into the Seanad and cricket was one of the sports targeted for high performance funding. Since 2008, when the cricket team beat Pakistan, the Irish Sports Council has strategically supported cricket and the results are evident in its recent successes. We are accustomed to seeing people come out onto the streets to play tennis during the championships at Wimbledon and in the next few years we will see people come out to play cricket in the same way. It has arguably made more advances than any other sport in Ireland, particularly at international level. I congratulate the Irish Sports Council and the Government on giving their backing to Cricket Ireland.