Sport Ireland says massive cost of anti-doping system is worth it

Sport Ireland CEO Dr Una May stood over the figures, saying they have had to rise to keep pace with the government’s increased investment in high performance sport. 

Sport Ireland chief executive Dr Una May. Pic: Sam Barnes, Sportsfile

Ireland’s anti-doping system is regarded as one of the best in the world, according to an expert from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), but it is coming at a massive cost.

Sport Ireland spent €2.44m on it last year, collecting a record 1,826 samples and testing 1,595 of them. It resulted in only two adverse findings.