Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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160. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if it is likely his Department can directly or indirectly assist in preparing Irish competitors for the next Olympics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16991/15]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Sports Council, which is funded by my Department, is the statutory body with responsibility for the promotion, development and co-ordination of sport. The Council allocates financial assistance to support our elite athletes through its High Performance Programme and Carding Scheme. €8.16m is being allocated to High Performance sports programmes this year with a further €1.6m allocated to athletes under the Carding Scheme.

The Irish Institute of Sport, which is a unit of the Irish Sports Council, also provides support services to athletes in essential areas, including sports medicine and science.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that in December 2014, I allocated additional funding of €1m to assist athletes who are  preparing for the 2016 Games.

In addition to the facilities available at the National Aquatic Centre for training and development of elite swimmers, a number of other world-class training facilities have been developed at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown in recent years. These will assist athletes in their training for certain Olympic and Paralympic disciplines. Facilities opened in the last two years include the National Horse Sport Arena and the National Modern Pentathlon Training Centre.

Work is also ongoing on the development of a High Performance Centre at the Irish Institute of Sport, which is based at the National Sports Campus. Construction work is scheduled for completion this summer and the Centre will be open to athletes in time to assist them in their preparations for Rio. Work has also commenced on a National Indoor Arena, which will support athletes for future Olympic and Paralympic Games through the provision of world-class indoor training facilities.