Mr. Kieran Mulvey:

We undertake that kind of assessment at the moment in our learning and development programmes. One of the issues about sporting organisations at the moment, given the proliferation in size, income stream and participation is that it is a wide church. However, there are principles that should apply irrespective of size. The Senator is quite right to say that there should be good, robust internal governance, meaning that people who have nothing to do with the organisation who have legal financial, marketing or commercial expertise should be brought on board. The problem with some sporting organisations is that they are transitioning from self-regulated volunteer organisations made up of people who have participated in the sport over a long period of time or who are parents with children involved with the sport. We must now move beyond that approach. We are moving into bigger financial and participation spaces. We also have to consider not just issues of good governance but child safety, child protection, health and safety and vetting. We have undertaken and discharged all of these functions. We also have to maintain professional input at executive and high-performance level, without leaving out volunteers, who we need in sports every day of the week, or tell them that they are not good enough to be on a board. The Special Olympics, Paralympics and the Community Games cannot survive without volunteers, and we have to be careful not to exclude them from the centre of policy decision making. They are vitally important, and they should be allied with the experts in terms of governance.

Ireland is struggling with corporate governance generally. The charity sector has had very bad experiences in that area. The sports sector has not, thankfully, had many problems with corporate governance, but other areas where State agencies have had to come into the private sector. We are moving on and are grappling with the issue of corporate governance. We are not the only country in the world having difficulties with this. This is a moving part here, and we have to get to the stage where we are confident that the rules, laws, regulations and statutory instruments and the voluntary codes are adhered to, not just in spirit but in reality. That is an educational and supervisory exercise. One size does not fit all, but Sport Ireland calls different organisations in to make presentations about their policies and plans. It is incumbent on Mr. Treacy, myself and other members of the board that we meet the chief executives, the high performance directors and the volunteers and go to their functions and events. It is not all about attending at international competitions. We have to be there in order to talk to them, to present their awards, to assist them in giving the kind of policy direction they require, and to thank and congratulate them for what they do and on their great achievements. The story of Irish sport is extraordinary. As Mr. Treacy said earlier, last year we won more medals internationally than ever before in a multiplicity of sports. We are not just talking about boxing any more, but sports that many of us have never heard of. Our Special Olympians acquit themselves extraordinarily well. They are ambassadors, as are the Paralympians.

We will have Olympians going to Tokyo. We hope to have the biggest team ever but we have to make sure they are nurtured, minded, supported and funded. Behind all of those teams are boards, high performance people and development officers. We have a series of local sports partnerships the length and breadth of the country. I refer to the amount of work they do. We also do dormant funding, which the members, as a committee, and the Government have gladly given to us. In that regard, because of my work in Dublin's inner city I saw women playing soccer last night under floodlights in Sheriff Street. That is what we need to do. We have to make sure that happens across the country, that they have the best of facilities and that they can get as much as we can provide.

We have had ten lean years of funding for sport. Thankfully, that changed last year, and I hope it will change further. Our athletes need it. I refer to what Deputy Coppinger said. I do not believe people who use pitches should be asked for fees. They are supplied by the State and councils.