Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am speaking now. If Senator O'Mahony wants to have a row, we can have one. I do not want a row; I want this to go well. I want to make a few summarising points before we come back in. My point is that Sport Ireland does not have the power to insist on a plan for proper corporate governance for all of these bodies. According to the terms and conditions for grant approval as set out on its application form, Sport Ireland must be satisfied that appropriate arrangements are in place for the overall governance and management of an organisation before it can approve funding. However, Sport Ireland does not have the power to address the issue. It can audit the funding it provides, but it cannot look at the other issues from the perspective of its legislative role. The issue is how we ensure Sport Ireland or another body has that power.

In regard to that question, I was interested in what Senator Feighan said about best practice in other countries. I do not know if it is true, but I have been told that in other countries where an application for a grant is made to the national equivalent of Sport Ireland, those other issues are vetted by the charities regulator. That regulator has statutory powers to examine the matter and refuse certification if certain conditions are not being met. Sport Ireland might have a view on that at our next meeting. People want certainty that these issues can never arise again or, if they do arise, that a statutory agency is able to sort them out immediately. That is the core issue. I do not know if the witnesses have a view on it. If the law needs to change, we should change it. We will suspend while we think about that. The key is to provide an answer to whatever weaknesses exist in the law or in respect of Sport Ireland's powers or those of the committee.