Mr. Kieran Mulvey:

Yes, Deputy O'Keeffe. In the context of the Sport Ireland Act 2015 and the transition from the Irish Sports Council and the National Sports Campus Development Authority at that stage there was no specific reference to the OCI or to any other internationally affiliated bodies. What was being put together in the legislation was largely a synergy of what the campus authority was doing regarding the development of physical facilities at the Abbotstown campus and a migration of the existing, plus additional, powers for the new Sport Ireland body, which were greater than those of the Irish Sports Council. That largely related to anti-doping, in particular, and oversight under the functions of the council. Some of those were elaborated upon in the Sport Ireland Act.

There was always a situation with the OCI - perhaps Mr. Treacy will elaborate on that when answering the question from Senator O'Mahony - that we were always treading on difficult ground because of the OCI's international status and its occasional but persistent use of its autonomy, its charter and its rights vis-à-vis interference by governments in the Olympic movement or any of its affiliates at national level. Sport Ireland would always be seen as the government in that regard. We were the body funded by the Government to fund it. Mr. Treacy would know this better than I would, but certainly before I came into the Irish Sports Council, the transition over the years of all the funding to the Irish Sports Council, which then distributed the funding, including to the OCI, might have been resented in OCI circles as it getting money through the Irish Sports Council and having to apply for it and go through all the rigours of that, rather than getting it as direct largesse or a direct grant from Government. Historically there was annoyance and antipathy towards that. That is probably one basis on which the OCI would have built up its own resources over the years through sponsorship and funding. There was always that, in terms of what may or may not have been said from time to time. One treaded around the OCI with delicate feet, and to a large degree in two-year and four-year cycles. In particular for the four-year cycle for the primary Olympic Games we entered into agreements with the OCI as developments from the Irish Sports Council and the Sport Ireland Act 2015, especially around elite athletes. That was our concern largely, as well as the logistics that would apply for training camps. The issues of accreditation, ticketing and contracts was always the jealously guarded authority of the OCI. For good, bad or indifferent, we did not go near that. We kept it to high performance and the money we gave it from year to year.

There was no specific reference in the Sport Ireland Act. Now we are in a situation where there is a specific reference in the Sport Ireland Act to the policy of Government. It is in section 12 of the Act. If we are directed by Government in regard to any sporting policy, the Minister writes to us to convey the policy. That is a very strong new authority, and obviously it has ramifications in the context of what we are talking about now. In that sense, to answer the Deputy's question, there was a far greater emphasis in the new Sport Ireland Act on international obligations and commitments, in particularly around anti-doping and our involvement in WADA. That brings us to the forefront of issues around anti-doping, which our chief executive has been very strong about. It might not go down well in certain quarters that we want all sports to be dope-free. We have a rigorous anti-doping section within Sport Ireland.

As we know from the controversies right up to the World Championships recently, that is an issue on which the IOC does not have a tremendously good track record.