Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is always a pleasure to listen to Mr. Mulvey. When I made my initial remarks about the 15-page presentation, I should have realised that, unsurprisingly, he was able to parse it effectively and well. I have read it all, by the way. It is an excellent document.

It is a blueprint for going forward.

I do not wish to further exhaust the well on the issue of the IABA. However, Mr. Mulvey has made his position perfectly clear. The committee agreed to my earlier proposal that it would invite both the Irish Sports Council and the IABA to come before it. I am not so sure there is necessity for representatives from the Irish Sports Council to appear. However, it is still relevant to have the IABA in because I believe it should be called to account, especially in light of the fact that its total funding comes from the taxpayer. It is accountable - whether it likes it or not - to this Oireachtas, to the Minister, by extension, and to the taxpayer. Mr. Mulvey has made his position clear. I agree with the views he has expressed at this meeting as well as his other recent comments on the high-performance unit and the matter of how he will deal with that in its relationship with the IABA. He is going to have to play hardball on this. Obviously, he is dealing with Neanderthals, dinosaurs, people who are not living in the real world in terms of sport.

We are all delighted with the Northern Ireland soccer team’s success in the European football championships. Any sports-loving person will be cheering on Northern Ireland next summer, as well as the Republic, hopefully. I would not like Mr. Mulvey to take his eye off the ball with the ongoing dialogue, albeit beneath the surface, in respect of an all-island team, however. I have been involved in this, no more than others, through my membership of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly going back 15 years. Any time I raised this issue on Northern Ireland radio or television, one would believe I was being accused of treason. There is this sensitivity, as if one were proposing a takeover. The Irish rugby team plays in the green jersey and it is an all-island team. Why should the soccer team not play as one?

I know Mr. Mulvey has exhausted this but I still believe the single most significant movement that can be made towards unifying the peoples of the two parts of this island would be if we had an all-island soccer team. The worst reflection of sectarianism is in the sport of soccer. One need only look at the media reaction to Northern Ireland winning when they went into the two divided communities. The different reactions in the two communities were as if they were living in two different worlds. Catholics just do not support the Northern Ireland soccer team because it plays its home games in a cold place. Windsor Park is a cold place for Catholics and Nationalists. That is sad. I know the Northern Ireland soccer federation is doing its best to trying to eliminate that. I hope, however, that this matter will be kept on the agenda by Mr. Mulvey. There never is a good time. The fact the Northern Ireland team qualified on this occasion - hopefully, we will too - is because of the expansion of the European championships to promote smaller countries. It might not happen with the World Cup, however, and it might be a long time before either part of this island qualifies for another international competition.

What is Mr. Mulvey’s view on minority sports? There are 67 different governing sports bodies. One need only think of the success we have had in sports which have received limited funding, relative to the big ones such as GAA, rugby and boxing. There was the excitement created by Annalise Murphy when we were all hoping she would win an Olympic gold medal in sailing in 2012. I know we are an island nation but sailing is not a sport that springs to mind. There is the success of the cricketing team and we came fourth in kayaking at the Olympics. Some years ago, Team GB decided it was going to invest more money in minority sports because it felt, even for a nation much larger than us, there were greater chances of success internationally by promoting some of those sports. Does Mr. Mulvey share that same view? Do we tend to look at the marquee sports when we might have more of an opportunity of winning medals internationally in minority sports? Will he identify those particular sports, encourage them and fund them more?

I have no difficulty with Northern Ireland athletes being double-funded. Mr. Mulvey is correct that it is a hugely competitive area and they are poaching our people. There are people from Northern Ireland who have gone with Team GB and won medals. If a double-funding mechanism is in place because of the unique nature of this island’s make-up, then why not? Good luck to them because sportspeople need as many financial resources as they can get. I know it is a disadvantage from a Southern perspective but, in the overall context, I do not see any difficulty.

I am delighted Mr. Mulvey has been appointed to this particular role, as there could not be a better person for it. I wish him continued success and look forward to further engagement with him.