Holders of official Olympics accreditation will not require a visa to visit Ireland following a decision by the Government to introduce a waiver for the period leading up to and during the London games.
The move follows a request from British immigration minister Damien Greene at a meeting in Dublin last year.
“I am delighted to announce this initiative which is designed to facilitate competitors and their teams getting to and from the Games,” Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said in a statement today.
Minster Shatter added: “It is the Government’s objective that the opportunity of the London Olympics be used to encourage teams and other persons attending the Games to visit Ireland. This measure supports that aim.”
In 2006, former minister for sport John O’Donoghue described the 2012 Olympic Games as a “once in a lifetime opportunity for Ireland”.
A Government taskforce set up to identify and maximise the opportunities arising from Ireland's proximity to London had the remit of marketing Ireland for its training facilities and other expertise ahead of the games.
However, with just four months to go before the Olympics, hopes of hosting significant numbers of athletes in training camps around the country have floundered.
Olympic Council of Ireland president Pat Hickey resigned from the task force last November, citing a lack in progress in providing facilities that would attract teams to train here before heading to London.
The US synchronised-swimming team, the UK Paralympic swimming squad and the Hungarian and British water-polo teams are the only teams to avail of the country’s facilities to-date.
In Britain, grants of up to £25,000 have been made available for Olympic teams that would use any of 600 approved Olympic sites around the country.
Northern Ireland sports minister Caral Ní Chuilin announced today that five more teams have committed to using facilities in the North.
Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Sudan and Jordan bring to eight the number of countries that have confirmed their intention to train in Northern Ireland. Other countries are also understood to be interested.
The visa waiver period will commence on 30th March 2012 and conclude on 8th November 2012.
Some conditions apply including that arrival in the State will only be permitted at Dublin and Shannon Airports and that the permission to stay in Ireland will be no more than 90 days.
