Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will conclude on this point. On the premise that Billy Walsh had proven himself time out of number and was worthy of the title of high performance director, was consideration given to going with that and all that flows from the position of director, in terms of answerability and being able to decide himself? I do not wish to nit-pick but Mr. Christle made a point earlier in which he characterised the relationship between Mr. Walsh and Mr. Carruth as being on good terms on the basis that Mr. Walsh was able to admit there had been a mix-up and to get a ticket to travel wherever. It is ludicrous for someone at that level not to have such autonomy within his or her own unit or that there was even a requirement to approach Mr. Carruth to seek approval to resolve something so minor. It is clear there was conflict on what was his role and his autonomy. Without going back over it, there is voluminous coverage in various different statements he has issued and in reports that ultimately, it came down to autonomy and a sense of recognition by the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, IABA, that this man was fit to run his own unit, within certain constraints. The directors of the association of course have responsibilities and they devolve certain powers and responsibilities to a director in charge of a particular function and I would have thought that is the normal way. It then goes back to what Mr. Kirwan has said about the capacity within his contract to be changed without reference to himself. While that point has been covered, in looking at all of this, it appears to me to be a relationship that was not self-respecting. It is clear from everything Mr. Walsh has said that he did not believe he had the autonomy or the respect of the association. If anything emerges from today's meeting, it is clear to me he did not and some of what has been said by its representatives leads me to assume or believe this is the case.

As Mr. Walsh is not coming back, we are now past that. How can the IABA prove to members, who represent the taxpayer, that it will be able to move beyond this and will be able to put in place a high performance director who will have the autonomy and wherewithal to get on with the task required of that person to run the unit? The representatives from either the IABA or Sport Ireland mentioned the necessity to have a memorandum of understanding between the two bodies. Is the IABA prepared to enter into that discussion? Would the association be prepared to come back to the joint committee or to send it a communication within a month or whatever to the effect that it has signed off on such a memorandum and now knows what is meant by a high performance unit within the boxing association, what are the director's role and responsibilities and whether everybody is happy with that?