Sports Grants: The Irish Sports Council today announced details of their €9million high performance grants package and maintained every Irish athlete represented at this year's Beijing Olympics will be "comprehensively supported".
The grants will be allocated through existing high performance schemes, combined with the International Carding Scheme with further initiatives to be introduced by the Irish Institute of Sport this year.
The International Carding Scheme accounts for 255 Irish athletes and will receive €2.21m in funding. The ongoing Performance Planning Programme will receive the lion's share of €5.93m, while the a further €935,000 will go towards new programmes to be "rolled out in 2008 by the Institute of Sport".
One such scheme is the new Performance Athlete Scholarship Scheme (PASS) which is intended to be the "flagship lifestyle programme" for the Institute this year.
"We are building a high performance system that we can be proud of in Ireland," said Minister for Sport Seamus Brennan. "Obviously the work comes into focus in an Olympic and Paralympic year. I am satisfied that every athlete that will represent Ireland in Beijing in 2008 has been provided with the best support possible."
John Treacy, chief executive of the Irish Sports Council, added: "The three strands of support; Performance Plans, Carding and the Institute programmes ensure that our athletes have a comprehensive support network for their entire sports career.
"As a former athlete I understand how crucial that total support is. I'm confident the system in place actively supports our athletes and significantly enhances their chances of success on the international stage."