Ms Sarah Keane:

Yes, our British counterparts in particular. We have asked them about their ticketing arrangements to understand them better, which will inform our own decision-making in regard to future ticketing arrangements. Varying arrangements are in place in different countries. I suspect the IOC may address future ticketing arrangements due to the recent events.

In regard to the staff of the OCI and the introduction to THG, I was not around at the time. All I can point members to is the information in the Moran report regarding how the former president met THG.

In regard to ticketing issues at London 2012 or previous Olympics, Swim Ireland had some grumblings but I was not aware of any significant issues. I had no knowledge of any significant issues regarding ticketing until everybody else did, which was in the middle of the 2016 Olympics.

Senator Feighan asked about Pro10. We know for sure that it owes us $50,000, which is a rights fee. The Moran report suggests it owes us more so there is a lack of clarity in that regard. That is something that, if we go back to Grant Thornton, we may ask it if it has further information on because it was in the middle of a report which was quite a long way down the road to completion. It was not written but Grant Thornton was in the middle of its work on it and may have something to add. That must be considered now that the Moran report has been published.

We also have to consider that Pro10 is not a company that is operational. How much money should we spend going after it and suing and getting a declaration against it if we later find that no money is forthcoming? There are many issues we must consider pragmatically because we do not have a huge amount of money. We want to spend as much as we can of what we have on the core business of the OCI.

I was asked what we intend to do regarding supporters and the club. This is a valid question and it is one the board has discussed to some extent. We are considering our options in this regard. One of the things that people believe makes a difference to creating a team identity and community is a hospitality house. This is somewhere where everyone can come together and athletes can meet their families who are not necessarily able to go into the Olympic village. It can also be used to celebrate achievements. Members of the media or the Government and others can come together and meet in a less pressurised environment that is outside the games. A hospitality house could also provide a separate meeting area for the athletes in addition to what is available to them in the Olympic village. While Ireland had a hospitality house in 2012, we did not have one in 2016. We have ideas around this issue but, again, it is a matter of resourcing. It is something that the sport believes will be very important going forward. Having said that, we are a little behind in planning for 2020. Tokyo is a long way from Ireland and it will not be cheap to provide this type of environment at the Tokyo Olympics. We believe this will be very important.

It can be difficult to pull together a club of people in advance because many athletes do not qualify until two or three months, or even one month, before the Olympics Games. Some will qualify a year in advance but many do not qualify until the final months before they are held. Trying to build an identity can, therefore, be difficult at that point. However, we have discussed the issue of providing kit for families as well as athletes. A major issue is what the athletes say and what the athletes commission will tell us about how they think we can do a better job supporting their families. My view, which I believe is supported by the board, is that we will ask a member of the athletes commission to go on a recce to Tokyo.

Ms O'Shea and I attended the recent European Youth Olympic Festival, which was also attended by an employee of Sport Ireland, to provide support. We are now receiving some objective feedback on how the event was run and the way in which it was kitted out. The things that matter to athletes include, for example, the number of Irish flags that are available, the way in which athletes are made to feel proud to be at an event as members of a large Irish team when they walk into a room, and the way in which we have identified ourselves as an Irish team. While we may be a smaller team in comparison with many other nations, we are still there to compete and be the best we can be.

We have to hear from the people. Apart from Darren O'Neill, none of the members of the board of the OCI competed as Olympians. It is important, therefore, that we listen to the people on that. Given that the current chief executive officer of Sport Ireland is also an Olympian, we have a wealth of expertise around what we can do. We are excited about the opportunity to do more for supporters and families in order that athletes feel people are involved. We fully acknowledge that the athletes' journey is only possible because they have many people, primarily family, around them supporting and helping them.