John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of questions too. I thank the representatives for their very positive report. I was present when the Taoiseach opened the National Sports Campus in Abbottstown. The GAA has announced a big investment there since then, so there is much good news.

It was mentioned that Senator Coghlan was playing devil's advocate. What are some of the difficulties and challenges the witnesses are facing? The Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ring, appeared before the committee some time ago and I asked him a question about Swim Ireland and the governance of Irish sport. I thank John Treacy for replying to me about that. I wish to expand a little and follow up on Senator Mooney's question regarding governance of sport in Ireland. Is Mr. Treacy happy with it? He mentioned the boxing situation. I presume this is part of the brief of the Irish Sports Council and that he is aware of the tensions within the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, IABA. The success is fantastic and we cannot afford to let it slip, but there appear to be issues there. Have they been resolved? The director of boxing sacked the ladies' coaching team that was put in place recently. I think that happened with youth teams as well. Obviously there are very strict lines defining people's roles. Have those issues been resolved?

To move on to some of the other issues, are there any rowers or coaches of international standard in Rowing Ireland at present? As a follow-up to the question on Swim Ireland - sometimes these matters are highlighted in the media, so this is a welcome opportunity for the witnesses to deal with them once and for all - I understand that Swim Ireland sacked its Limerick coach without any type of post-Olympic review or without speaking to the coach or the athletes he coached after the Olympics. I also understand that Cycling Ireland has disbanded all of its track teams. Are there issues with the governance or administration of sports that require funding to be targeted in a better way?