The announcement was made today...
The Ireland women's Hockey team made an emotional return to Dublin Airport today where they were greeted by families, fans and Minster for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross.
The day was made even better when Ross announced that the government was allocating an extra €1.5 million in funding for Irish teams preparing for the Olympics and World Championships. He promised that much of the money would go to the hockey team.
Speaking on RTÉ, Ross said: "People say how is the government going to respond to this extraordinary achievement? Well, let me tell you."
Ross made the announcement in front of the team as they returned today from the Women’s Hockey World Cup, where they reached the final before losing out to an excellent Netherlands side.
The issue of funding for the team has been a hot topic over the past week, with reports emerging that the players had to pay a World Cup levy themselves.
However, yesterday, CEO of Sport Ireland John Treacy denied this and said the Ireland women's hockey players did not have to each pay a levy of €550 to represent Ireland at the World Cup, despite reports that they had to because of a shortfall in funding.
He added that €45,000 had been allocated to be shared among the squad of 40, but added that Sport Ireland would love to give more money, but they're limited in terms of budget.
