Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. It is unusual for me to be sitting on the other side of the fence as a Member of the Oireachtas, which I am very honoured to be, as opposed to being invited before the committee. Mr. Tracey and Mr. Mulvey alluded to the fact I was chair of the high performance committee in the Irish Sports Council for the Olympic cycle leading up to London. In recent years, long since I retired from sport, the transformation in support for Irish sport has been incredible, with funds available for all athletes since 1999 when the Irish Sports Council became a statutory body, the support mechanism for athletes and the development of the Irish Institute of Sport under the leadership of Mr. Gary Keegan. The transformation has been amazing.

Having been chair of the high-performance committee it is awkward for me to raise issues regarding the Olympic Games, because today we are reviewing them and not necessarily discussing alcohol in sport. Ireland certainly punches above its weight when it comes not only to Olympic sports but also sports such as golf and rugby. We are all very proud of what our sports men and women achieve. Looking back at the London Olympic Games now, numerous people have said to me that if we strip out the gold, silver and two bronze medals we won in boxing and the bronze medal won by Cian O'Connor, who only came in at the last minute, the performance of the Irish Olympic team was poor for the amount of money spent during the four-year cycle leading up to the London Olympic Games. What are the views of the witnesses on such comments, which have been put to me since the London Olympic Games when everybody was saying how great the performance was? I know how hard it is to make the Olympic Games and how difficult it is to get it right on the one particular day.

I would also like to investigate whether we are considered a Third World nation when it comes to sport and the Olympic Games? If so why did some athletes who qualified and were taken care of financially for a four-year period and were either injured or sick go to the Olympic Games where they performed very poorly? Some of the injured athletes could have been replaced because others had qualified. Why was this not taken care of leading into the London Olympic Games?

Another area, which is a bone of contention between Mr. Hickey and myself, is regarding B standard athletes who are not selected. If we are a Third World nation with regard to Olympic sports, and other such nations throughout the world are allowed to send athletes who do not get an A or even a B standard, why did we not send three young athletes who were seven hundredths of a second out? Perhaps had they been selected with the B standard they would have performed better than those who competed with A standard qualifications. If the mission of the Olympic Council of Ireland is to develop the Olympic movement in Ireland and to encourage the development of high-performance sports why are these young athletes, who are on the threshold of breaking through, not considered for the Olympic Games?

My final question is directed to Mr. Hickey. The Chairman made reference to accountability. The Irish Sport Council accounts for every penny spent. What funding does the Olympic Council of Ireland receive from the Irish taxpayer and what percentage is this of the overall budget? What is the breakdown of the funding it receives from the taxpayer and how is it spent?