Mr. Jonathan Hill:

-----so I will stay within the five-minute deadline.

On behalf of the FAI I thank the Cathaoirleach, Deputies and Senators for the invitation to address the committee today. We were originally due to address this committee on the FAI’s facility investment vision and strategy, the primary purpose of which is to ensure every part of Irish football has access to the best possible facilities and that every girl and boy throughout Ireland will have access to basic facilities such as toilets, changing rooms, equipment and playing pitches. We look forward to discussing this with the committee in greater detail today.

We also welcome the opportunity to provide clarification on recent governance-related matters regarding adherence to MOU condition 35, one of 163 recommendations set out in Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, which is our agreement with the Government in respect of restoration of funding and the provision of additional funding support to the FAI for the period 2020 to 2023. First, for the record, I once again apologise unreservedly for what has transpired in recent weeks. While we have made strong progress on governance reform, we recognise these events have placed the spotlight on Irish football for all the wrong reasons and evoked memories of the recent past which we know Irish football needs to move on from. I also regret that these events take the focus away from the phenomenal work being done across all levels of Irish football, from grassroots to the League of Ireland through to our international teams. I also apologise for the difficulty it has caused for our outstanding and hard-working staff, as well as for Sport Ireland and the Department. It has been an unnecessary and unhelpful distraction at a time when much good work is being done across Irish football and across Irish sport in general.

I will address the specific issue at hand. Agreed in January 2020, the MOU between the FAI and the Government was put in place for the period 2020 to 2023. MOU condition 35 covered the CEO’s remuneration and required it to be in line with Government pay guidelines for a Secretary General. To ensure the recommendations contained within the MOU were being adopted by the FAI, regular audits have been carried out by KOSI Corporation Limited on behalf of Sport Ireland. The outcome of the audit in respect of MOU condition 35, which the FAI supported in full with our counterparts at KOSI and Sport Ireland, concluded the FAI had not embedded MOU condition 35 in 2022 and that, in short, the CEO's total remuneration in 2022 exceeded that of a Secretary General.

Following receipt of the report and the KOSI recommendations in it, the FAI took immediate corrective action and I returned the moneys in question in full. The Department and Sport Ireland are now fully satisfied that MOU condition 35 is embedded and we welcome the decision of the Department and Sport Ireland to resume funding the association. While we sincerely believed we were acting in accordance with the MOU at all times, and while it was unintentional, we acknowledge we did not comply fully with MOU condition 35 in 2022. This cannot happen again and a process of identifying and implementing lessons learned has already commenced.

We are now looking forward to 2024 and continuing to build on the progress made in reforming the organisation over the past three years. We are trying to do the right things for Irish football and to set it up for success for current and future generations. While recent events may result in people questioning whether the FAI has reformed itself, the reality and truth of the matter is that we have. The organisation has reformed significantly over the past three years. Evidence of this is seen in the considerable progress made in governance reforms through the implementation of recommendations set out in the MOU, of which 98% are expected to be complete by the end of 2023. We welcome recent comments made by Sport Ireland and the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, acknowledging the significant progress made by the FAI on its governance reform agenda.

However, governance reform of the FAI does not end once we have fully implemented all recommendations of the MOU. It is and will continue to be a core part of the association moving forward. We always want our organisation to be fully transparent and have a trusting relationship with the Government, Sport Ireland and all stakeholders. The road to recovery was never going to be easy. We accept the level of scrutiny around the FAI and know that, given previous challenges, we will be held to the highest standards and will face more scrutiny than others, which is understandable. I assure the committee, everyone involved in football and the wider public that the modern FAI is a different organisation. It is filled with honest, hardworking, talented, and highly capable people, some of whom are alongside me here today. Collectively, we are working extremely hard to improve the reputation of Irish football and we are united behind a simple vision: using football to inspire a nation and connect communities.