Apart from Britain, Ireland is the only other European market for Cadbury's €15 million (£13 million/$21 million) "Spots v Stripes" campaign which is part of their Tier Two sponsorship of London 2012. 

The ParaLions programme aims to discover the next generation of Irish Paralympians and it unearthed major talent after the Beijing 2008 Paralympics with approximately one-fifth of the Irish team for London 2012 coming directly from the project.

Perhaps two of the most high profile individuals to emerge from the programme are Mark Rohan, the current hand-cycling world champion, and Jonathan McGrath, a swimmer who is ranked fifth in the world.

"Paralympics Ireland is an elite Irish sports organisation which has worked tirelessly over the years to identify and nurture talented Irish athletes, promoting Paralympic sport across the country, their work is truly inspiring to all of us and we in Cadbury are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Paralympics Ireland and look forward to working together through London 2012 and beyond," said Cadbury Ireland managing director Brian O'Sullivan.

"I would also like to pay special tribute to all our Paralympics Ireland athletes and wish them every success on the road to London 2012."

The ParaLions programme is primarily designed to encourage young people with a disability to take part in physical activity, identify future Paralympic talent and channel them into a sport appropriate to their disability, fast-track talented athletes into national squads and assist Paralympics Ireland member organisations to grow their membership base.

The support that Cadbury will provide through to 2013 will primarily be focused at identifying athletes for Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and future Paralympic Games whilst also supporting current team members.

"We are delighted to welcome Cadbury as a Paralympic partner in Ireland as we prepare in earnest for the 'home games' of London 2012," said Paralympics Ireland chief executive Liam Harbison.

"We are in a really strong position to be hugely successful in London, and Cadbury are providing a huge opportunity for us to capitalise on the success of London by identifying the Irish Paralympians of the future.

"We look forward to working with Cadbury in further developing our ParaLions Programme and promoting the achievements of Ireland's elite athletes with a disability."

A highlight of this partnership will be the hosting of a "Paralympic Sport Expo" in October 2012, shortly after the Paralympics, which to encourage more young people with a disability to become involved in disability sports.

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