McDaid may make use of banned sports drugs a crime

Moves to make the use of banned drugs in sport a criminal offence are being considered by the Minister for Sport.

Dr McDaid has been holding discussions with the Attorney General, Mr David Byrne, about bringing in criminal sanctions against drugs cheats.

He is expected to tell delegates at a conference in Dublin today that he believes athletes alone are not to blame - he considers that the prevalence of drug use in sport indicates collusion among trainers, athletes and managers as well as athletes themselves.

Shortly after taking up office last year, Dr McDaid said one of his priorities would be to oversee new drug-testing measures. Since then, a four-year ban has been imposed on swimmer Michelle de Bruin by FINA, the world governing body of swimming, for what it said was manipulation of a sample, and three rugby internationals have tested positive for banned substances.

Dr McDaid is understood to be concerned that young people beginning to compete in sports might feel obliged to enter into a "Faustian pact", taking risks with their long-term health by using drugs in an effort to improve short-term performance.

The two-day "Sport against Drugs" conference, organised by the Olympic Council of Ireland, will also be addressed by Prince Alexandre de Merode, chairman of the medical commission of the International Olympic Committee, and the US Olympic committee drug control director, Dr Wade Exum.

Prof David Cowan, head of the IOC laboratory, will also address the conference, which takes place at a Dublin hotel.

Last month Dr McDaid warned young athletes about the potential dangers of using a legal muscle-building drug, creatine, in an effort to improve their performance.

Fine Gael's spokesman on sport, Mr Bernard Allen, had said there were allegations that schools were urging their top athletes to use the substance.

While it was not illegal, it created an air of acceptability of performance-enhancing substances, he said.