Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister, Deputy Ross, will answer the second question. I have requested a meeting with Dr. Wu based on Ireland's experience in the Olympic Games. I have done so in response to commentary in the media and my own interest in it. As somebody who has a passing interest in boxing, I was left in no doubt that there were serious questions to ask from an Irish point of view in the aftermath of the Olympic Games. The first thing one would have to ask about Ireland's participation in boxing is whether our boxers were treated fairly. There was one clear example to most people whereby we all thought our man had won and then, to absolute disbelief, our man had not won. An explanation is owed to us, because as a Government in the first instance, we fund the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, IABA. It is channelled through Sport Ireland after being voted by the Oireachtas to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. There is a clear line of responsibility in terms of accountability for what happens to our athletes.

There is an element of fairness. These are people who are representative of the State. When they go out there, they are under the Irish tricolour. We have to be satisfied that they are treated fairly. I was left in major doubt that our people were being treated fairly. I have no problem in stating that publicly and have done so previously. I have requested a meeting with Dr. Wu. There was one originally scheduled but unfortunately, due to his engagements, it had to be deferred. I have made it clear that I am prepared to go to Lausanne or if it can be accommodated in Dublin, so be it. We have to get back to a situation where we can trust, without any element of doubt, that when somebody goes out under the Irish tricolour, they are treated the very same as everybody else. That is owed to our athletes. In the aftermath of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, a very sour taste was left in the mouths of our participating athletes. In advance of further international competition, we as a Government, Sport Ireland, and the IABA want assurances that our people are going to be treated fairly. It beggars belief that when the bout was over, the person who won it was as shocked as the rest of us and could not continue on.

I welcome that this has been brought up in this forum because it comes in under governance. The IABA have recently gone down the road of looking at its own strategic development. It is funded by our Department. The association must be satisfied that when it puts young men and women out into the ring on behalf of Ireland, they are being treated fairly. I have a big cloud of suspicion there at the moment. I want assurances. They are owed to our athletes in the first instance. Assurances that this is being done properly are also owed to the people who fund the IABA, who ultimately are the taxpayers of Ireland. That is why I have looked for it.