Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad that Mr. Treacy referred to the overt threats from the IABA, because the threat of the withdrawal of funding has come up time and again in this discussion. I was present at the meeting last week with Mr. Mulvey, and Mr. Treacy is perfectly right. I left here totally convinced that there was no threat to the funding of the IABA’s boxers. What Mr. Mulvey explored - he has answered already on this and can answer again - was the possibility, because of all that had happened following Billy Walsh’s departure, of adopting the United Kingdom model of funding for the high performance unit, which is a separate issue. That was not a question of withdrawal of funding but of perhaps redirecting funding.

I can understand his frustration, which he made quite plain, considering Mr. Christle's statement last week. According to Malachy Clerkin in The Irish Times, “They are standing up for boxing against a meddling Government agency, one they described yesterday as having [and this is a quote from Mr. Christle] ‘absolutely no experience, knowledge or credibility in this sport’.” If I was sitting on the Irish Sports Council I would have had a much less restrained response than Mr. Mulvey’s to that sort of allegation. That was an outrageous thing to say. I appreciate that people said things in the heat of the moment, but in the context of what Mr. Christle said, and what Mr. Mulvey said about the possibility of exploring the issue, I can understand Mr. Mulvey's point of view. I left here under no illusion but that there was no threat to withdraw funding. I raise this only because Mr. Christle said it sent shock waves through the organisation, from coaches down to boxers. It was good and proper to clarify that here again.

Can Mr. Christle clarify for me whether at the meeting on 14 September it was the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, who proposed the financial package and the remuneration to Mr. Christle, or was it the Irish Sports Council?