Ms Sarah O'Shea:

I thank the Chairman and the committee for the opportunity afforded to the federation to address the committee here today. I feel it would be helpful to begin by providing some background on the federation and its role, and then our chief executive Sarah O’Connor will provide more detail on the federation's submission.

The Federation of Irish Sport was established in 2002 by the national governing bodies of sport, who felt that an organisation that could represent the interests of sport and speak on behalf of all of sport as an independent voice was required.