Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegation. The one thing which is of great concern to all of us is the temporary withdrawal of funding to the association pending the three reports from the FAI, Grant Thornton and Mazars. All I would say about that matters is that any person who has ever been involved in any type of business, regardless of whether it is trading with €50 million or €50,000 a year, has dealt with different problems at various times. If we looked back on the way that we dealt with those problems maybe we would not have dealt with them in the smartest of ways. Hindsight is of great benefit to all of us. I have no doubt that if Mr. Delaney had his time back, perhaps this whole issue would have been dealt with a different way. However, I am quite confident that the only thing Mr. Delaney could be accused of is being passionately committed to his job and to the survival of what I would call the business and that all he was trying to do was good. Of course, there has to be proper governance, there have to be proper accountancy practices but I really cannot for the life of me see how the three reports will not be positive in their findings, thereby allowing for the funding to be restored. The president was questioned about Mr. Delaney's suitability to be the executive vice president of the association. Mr. Delaney's work ethic over the years will show that he is eminently qualified and most definitely the best-qualified person for this new role that has been created for continuity and for dealing with FIFA and UEFA.

It would be very remiss of me not to mention what I know first hand, particularly as we are hearing a lot of other stuff today. I want to remember what Mr. Delaney has done for the association throughout the country. In every club from the grassroots up, locally and nationally - and on the international scene - Mr. Delaney's personal reputation is, in my humble opinion, second to none. People can look-----