Irish swimmers are suffering because of the Government's halt on funds to the Irish Amateur Swimming Association (IASA). The funds were stopped by Sports Minister Dr Jim McDaid following serious complaints about how the association dealt with complaints of child sex abuse in the sport. The Leisureland meeting in Galway at the end of the month will cost the IASA £20,000, but the £8,000 allocated by the Government last December was withdrawn last week. The sponsors, Optrex, have also pulled out of the meeting which is the biggest of the year on the Irish swimming calendar and last year was seen as one of the greatest successes for many years for the sport.

The IASA will now have to fund the meeting themselves, which will further deplete already scarce resources.

The Leisureland meeting has already attracted big names from abroad including John Olsen and Gary Hall Jnr from the US relay team which won the gold medal in the Atlanta Olympic Games. Top German club Hamburg, as well as elite Dutch swimmers and leading Irish figures Michelle Smith, Chantal Gibney, Lee Kelleher and Hugh O'Connor, are all due to compete. The meeting, will, however, go ahead.

But other events further down the line are expected to be hit with fears that some might not take place at all. Trips abroad for under-age Irish swimmers and elite squads are now in doubt.

The IASA, who last year drew £240,000 from Government funds, have a string of events planned for the year but, in effect, no money to fund them. A trip to the Hamburg testing centre at Easter for elite swimmers is in doubt as are a number of World Cup events for other top swimmers. The trip to Hamburg is part of a scientific monitoring device to test swimmers' endurance, strength and stroke power.

Questions are also being asked about the National Championships in Belfast in July and the Irish age-group meeting in Cork in June which is organised for 10year-old to 15-year-old swimmers.

"The IASA will face massive bills but it is imperative that our swimmers get to the main events such as the World Cup events. It's very important, especially for the younger ones, to be exposed to that level of competition."