All drug test samples collected under the Irish Sports Council's new anti-doping programme will be analysed by the Drug Control Centre of King's College in London - one of the 17 laboratories in Europe accredited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The two-year contract was confirmed by the Sports Council's chief executive John Treacy yesterday. The laboratory director, Professor David Cowan, is widely respected in the area of drug testing and is also a member of the five-man IOC sub-commission on doping and biochemistry in sport.
It will cost in the region of £90,000 for the analysis, based on a £150 charge for each in-competition test sent to the lab. Initially the Sports Council hopes to carry out 600 tests a year as part of their £350,000 annual budget for the testing programme.
There are currently no IOC-accredited labs in Ireland.
The Sports Council have also agreed a one-year contact with a courier agency - Swedish firm International Doping Tests and Management (IDTM) - to transport the samples to the lab.
The anti-doping programme will officially begin this weekend with a two-day conference hosted by the Sports Council at the Leopardstown Pavilion in Dublin. It will address all national governing bodies on aspects of the testing, evaluation and research within the anti-doping programme.
Keynote speakers will include Dr Conor O'Brien, chairman of the anti-doping committee, Paul Kelly of the Drug Control Centre in London, as well as representatives from IDTM.
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