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The Irish Sports Council today published their anti-doping test figures for 2012. The national programme saw 787 tests across 31 sports in 2012. This is a decrease from previous years but is due to a more targeted programme and a major increase in blood testing to 133 over the course of the year.

The data showed there were eight anti-doping rule violations in 2012. Four of these violations arose from a substance found in supplements and four were related to cannabis which is a prohibited substance.

Minister of State Michael Ring, commenting on the figures said

The Irish anti-doping programme is very strong and I want to commend Professor Buckley and the Irish Sports Council for their continuing excellence in this area. It is an international issue and that is why I was delighted to be able to have dialogue with the senior representatives from WADA today. I have made it a priority during the EU Presidency to advance the battle against doping.

Information was also published on "Whereabouts Failures". For individual sports there were 18 "Filing Failures" and 3 "Missed Tests". Three indiscretions of this kind can lead to an athlete receiving a sanction which to date has not arisen under the Irish Anti-Doping Rules. In team sports there were 12 "Unsuccessful Attempts" including 8 in the GAA.

The other highlights in 2012 include significant progress in advancing the concept of an intelligence-led programme and the and the significant contribution made to improving detection of steroid abuse arising from a co-funded research project at the Institute of Biochemistry in Cologne (information included in background documents).

John Treacy, CEO of the Irish Sports Council said ;

We have worked very hard on improving the compliance with the "whereabouts system". Progress has been made in some areas but there is still room for improvement. We are very pleased with the progress made in the blood testing programme. Overall we are working towards a more targeted intelligence-led approach to testing and there were important developments in this regard in 2012.