Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for coming before the committee. Our brief covers transport, tourism and sport and we are very anxious to pay attention to each of these areas. Governance is a topic we very much want to cover because if we do not get it right, we will end up with issues similar to the ones we had last summer which brought sport into disrepute and raised questions about public funding. Another topic we wish to cover is participation in sport. These are the two dominant issues we want to deal with in our work programme, but the one we will discuss today is governance. I am very impressed when we look at the level of participation in the three codes collectively. One cannot be Irish without being interested in sport. Whether one likes it, one is drawn into it and I happen to like it.

A number of governance issues are raised in the case of the FAI. The Genesis report was produced 14 or 15 years ago. It contained a number of recommendations which ended up not being implemented, including that independent non-executive directors be appointed. Why was that the case? It was a big initiative after the events in Saipan and should have fed into the area of governance. Recently, the age until which people could serve on the board was extended beyond 75 years. Some people have been members of the FAI board for many years. Turnover is very important to bring freshness and avoid groupthink. It also helps good governance. Things that are not desirable in terms of good governance are jumping out at me. Will Mr. Delaney address this range of topics?

Finance is another issue about which there is public concern, particularly when public funding is given to organisations. A number of people have commented on the figure of €5 million, including Niamh Brennan and Mike Flynn, but it was not mentioned in the accounts subsequently. Was it a loan? I am referring to the €5 million received after the Thierry Henry handball incident.

That matter needs to be clarified because it keeps cropping up. It would be useful to get a resolution in respect of it.

The women's game has been well established for a long time. I am aware of it through a number of clubs in my area. It is disappointing that we are not seeing the throughput of women in sport and are talking about issues such as quotas and so forth. I would like to see that happen naturally. If one looks at the people involved in clubs, even at junior level, including referees and so forth, one sees greater female participation. However, women tend to be involved at a lower level. I welcome the fact that a woman will be appointed to a senior role in the near future. I would like to see more of that but would prefer if it was not by way of quotas. There is a very famous young woman from my area, Ms Emma Byrne, who played for Arsenal and who is a celebrated talent in the women's game.

On the GAA -----