Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It has been an interesting few days. As politicians we get used to never being amazed, but this is absolutely amazing. I want to be positive in the first instance. I want to congratulate Ms Keane, Mr. Treacy, Mr. Mulvey and Ms O'Shea, the OCI and Sport Ireland, for being upbeat, upfront and for trying to bring what is a very sad chapter in sport in Ireland to a close and to make it much more amenable. I wish them well. Today is a great starting point. Much work has been done.

This would make a great film, because it has been going on for 17 or 18 years.

I think it was Mr. Treacy who said that in 2000, the president of the OCI had the power to contact the Australian immigration authorities or the Australian embassy. It sent word back to say that it was Mr. Pat Hickey who decided who got the accreditation or something like that. It shows the power and the abuse of power that went on for 17 years. When I was growing up, I was involved in football organisations. Unless an organisation has terms of reference or whatever, sometimes people abuse that power. A number of years ago, the Genesis report was published following an investigation into funding and so on in the FAI.

I note that there were three leadership challenges against Mr. Pat Hickey. However, I note also that this is not just an Irish issue. The IOC's charter states that it is a not-for-profit organisation made up of volunteers but nothing could be further from the truth. What has happened in Ireland and with the tickets is symptomatic of what is happening in most of the countries. It is probably an issue in eastern Europe and around the world. Is the IOC very aware of what is going on? It is quite obvious. People say Leinster House holds the corridors of power. To me, the corridors of power were in the IOC or the OCI.

I would like to congratulate Ms Keane on moving from business class and going economy. I have always had an issue with that. It is the way forward for organisations. Since 2011, Ministers travelling on St. Patrick's Day have gone economy class. I want to put that on record because I think it goes unnoticed. It sends out the signal that we cannot be extravagant with taxpayers' money.

There is an issue with how Mr. Hickey managed to change from THG to Pro10 for the ticketing arrangements. It is obvious that there are people in other Olympic councils or in the IOC who work quid pro quoor who say, "You scratch my back and I scratch yours". If we are shining a light here in Ireland, are we effectively swimming against the tide if the same issues exist in other organisations around the world?

I have a few questions that I wish to ask. Mr. Treacy said he had various disputes. Could he give us a flavour of some of the disputes? Were they petty or huge? I always remember an anecdote told in Leinster House. Any Minister who went to see the president of the OCI was reminded by him that he or she was his 11th sports Minister, 12th sports Minister and so on. It was more or less to say Ministers would come and go but he would be there much longer.

I understand that Pro10 owes the OCI moneys as part of the rights fees to be paid under contracted agreement for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Can Ms Keane give the committee a ballpark figure of how much that is? Is it €5,000 or €500,000? I do not know.

We need to look at Sochi and the London Olympics as well. Obviously, this went on. I cannot understand how it did not reach the radar of members of the OCI or others because it is quite obvious that this went on before Rio.

The real victims here are the athletes and their families. It is harrowing to hear what happened. What do the witnesses intend to do to change that? Is there a supporters' club? Is there a timeline in which there will be a bit more, I will not say compassion, but help, for supporters and families? It is a huge honour for an athlete to have family members or friends going to the Olympics. Is there anything there in that regard?

It could be a way forward.

We have gone to see the Sport Ireland, OCI and FAI facilities at Blanchardstown and they are absolutely magnificent. The delegates can tell us about everything that has happened, but one only appreciates them when one goes to see them. We were blown away by the professionalism, dedication and commitment of every organisation. I encourage everyone to take a trip around the campus and wish the organisations every success in the future.