Irish elite athletes to resume training on Monday following government decision

Olympic prospects and rugby players from the three southern provinces will be among elite Irish athletes allowed to resume training at designated venues from Monday.

The decision comes after the Irish Government approved a submission from Sport Ireland calling for the move.

Governing bodies in Olympic sports said continuing inactivity left athletes in danger of falling behind rivals.

The decision also allows Derry City to resume training.

The Brandywell outfit are among four League of Ireland clubs set to take part in a tournament in July which is aimed at restarting domestic football in the Republic of Ireland.

Leinster, Munster and Connacht will be able to return to training next week, albeit under social distance requirements for now, while Ulster players are scheduled to link up again on 29 June.

Sport Ireland chief executive John Treacy welcomed the Irish Government's decision.

Athletes allowed to return to training include those on Sport Ireland's international carding scheme and high performance programme funding in addition to the football and rugby players identified by the FAI and IRFU.

Sport Ireland made a submission to Government in May seeking a special dispensation for high performance athletes to travel beyond then distance restrictions in order to train at dedicated high performance training centres.

The proposal was supported by the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Paralympics Ireland as well as national sporting governing bodies.

"Since Covid-19 restrictions were put in place in March, the operations of our high performance programmes have been significantly affected," said Sport Ireland chief Treacy.

"The athletes have shown great dedication in continuing to train on an individual basis in their remote environments.

"However, sports that are facility dependent or team based cannot easily replicate the benefits of training at their home environment.

"Sport Ireland has worked closely with our funded bodies to understand their requirements in order to return to training in a safe and controlled manner and has advocated on their behalf to ensure a prompt return with appropriate protocols in place.

"Sport Ireland would like to acknowledge Ministers Ross and Griffin for their support in enabling this to be facilitated."

National governing bodies were required to prepare detailed protocols outlining how athletes and support personnel would be kept safe once they returned to trained.

Venues which will reopen include the Sport Ireland Campus, which includes facilities such as National Aquatic Centre and Cricket Ireland's training base.

Sport Ireland said the return to training for athletes would not be mandatory with "all athletes encouraged to take personal responsibility and ensure that they operate within the parameters of the protocols of their respective sports".

Other venues which will open again include Morton Stadium, the Irish Sailing High Performance Headquarters in Dun Laoghaire, the National Rowing Centre, GUI Academy at Carton House plus the training venues for Dundalk FC, Derry City, Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers, Leinster, Munster and Connacht.