Anti-doping Committee – Role is to assist and advise Sport Ireland in relation to the performance of its functions including providing assistance and advice to Sport Ireland on policy formulation relating to the three strands of testing, education and research required under the terms of the council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention, 1989 and providing assistance and advice to the Sport Ireland staff on policy execution. 

P.43 Sport Ireland Anti-Doping

Under the Sport Ireland Act 2015, Sport Ireland’s functions in relation to Anti-Doping include

• to facilitate, through the promulgation of guidelines and codes of practice, standards of good conduct, fair play and the elimination of doping in sport;
• to take such action as Sport Ireland considers appropriate, including testing, to combat doping in sport;
• to plan, implement, evaluate and monitor education and information programmes for good conduct, fair play and the elimination of doping in sport;
• in its capacity as the national anti-doping organisation in the State, to direct the collection of samples, to manage the testing and test results of samples and attend hearings, as required. 

Programme Highlights

• In Competition samples accounted for 20% and out of competition tests for 80% in the national testing programme.
• Number of samples collected increased by 12%.
• Sport Ireland trained a further 32 anti-doping tutors from GAA, Irish Athletic Boxing Association, FAI, Horse Sport Ireland, Badminton Ireland and the Olympic Federation of Ireland. In total there are 83 active Sport Ireland trained tutors.
• In 2018, Sport Ireland trained tutors delivered over 210 anti-doping seminars.
• Over 2,050 individuals completed the online anti-doping e-learning course.
• Over 30,000 wallet cards were distributed to various NGBs and stakeholders.
• There were over 25,000 successful queries in 2018 on the medication checker website www.eirpharm.com. 

Programme Overview

The annual Sample Collection Personnel training days took place on October 6th and December 6th 2018 and 45 sample collection personnel attended these sessions and will be accredited for 2019. There were 58 Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) applications in 2018, this was an decrease of 28% from 2017 (n=81) and once again these applications came from a diverse range of sports. Of the 58 applications received, a significant portion were for medications that are not/no longer included on the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List and therefore no TUE Certificates were granted for these applications. Athletes are reminded to check their medications carefully prior to making a TUE application using the free ‘Medication Checker App’, MIMS, on www.eirpharm.com or www.globaldro.com before completing the TUE application form. Of the valid TUE applications made to Sport Ireland in 2018 (n=29) 24 were approved by the Therapeutic Use Exemption Committee on receipt of an up-to-date medical file, while 5 remained as incomplete applications by the end of 2018. Incomplete applications were because of nonreceipt of a medical file, the medication ultimately not being used or the athlete awaiting further

medical assessment. Sport Ireland encourages anyone who detects, identifies, witnesses, knows of or has reasonable grounds to suspect that cheating has occurred to come forward and report suspected doping violations. A Report Doping online submission form is available through the Sport Ireland website (https://www.sportireland.ie/anti-doping) which will help to provide a safe and secure way for members of the public to report matters relating to drugs in sport……