Ms Sarah Keane:

I wish to add something to that in terms of the governance codes. Three governance codes are applicable to organisations of different sizes. Some boards must have operational and strategic functions because they do not have any staff. The second one is for organisations with fewer than ten members of staff and the third one is for organisations with more than ten staff. That in itself is a challenge. There are more than 50 principles in the governance codes so when our organisation reported to the Sports Council on how we were doing it took us 16 pages to go through where we were on each one. It covers risk management, financial policy, term limits, relationships between the board, relationships with the CEO and other operational staff, independent directors and how one runs one's meetings. It is a huge piece of work in that regard and that is why it is taking time for people to get through it. Everybody needs to be on the journey but it will take some time for most people to get through it.

As a governing body that was involved from the start and one of the first ones to do it, it has taken us several years to do it. A big point is that if one is a company limited by guarantee, which at this stage almost all governing bodies are, one needs 75% of one's membership to embrace those principles as well and that can take a lot of education, persuasion and time. That is the only way one will change the culture. Otherwise, it is just a box-ticking exercise. That is what everybody needs to fight for it not to be if we want to really effect change and ensure that governance works at the highest levels in Irish sport.