Mr. John Delaney:

I thank the Chairman, Deputies and Senators. I want to address the committee on the issue of €100,000 I gave to the Football Association of Ireland, FAI, in April 2017, which was repaid to me in June 2017.

First of all I want to say how truly saddened I am that Sport Ireland, which provided annual State funding of €2.9 million to the Football Association of Ireland, has announced that it has temporarily withdrawn the funding to the association pending reports from the FAI, Grant Thornton and Mazars.

I wish to make it clear that I have urged a speedy response to the queries received from Sport Ireland, and this week I have already met with Grant Thornton and with the FAI on these issues. I will respond to any request to a meeting as soon as I hear from Mazars.

On Tuesday, 25 April 2017 we had an internal finance meeting at the FAI. This meeting was attended by our director of finance, Mr. Eamon Breen, our financial controller Ms Yvonne Tsang, and me as the CEO. At this meeting I was advised that if all cheques and FAI bank transfers issued to third parties at that time were presented for payment that the FAI would exceed its overdraft limit of €1.5 million on its bank accounts, which were held with Bank of Ireland. I expressed concern and surprise at the meeting as to how the FAI could have arrived at this position. I recall thinking at the time that if I had been approached even a few days earlier I may have been able to better address the issue. I asked if any funds were due to the FAI that could resolve the matter and I was informed that there was nothing due imminently that could be confirmed at that stage.

As the matter was pressing and we only had a few hours to resolve the potential issues that would arise if the bank overdraft limit was exceeded, as a precautionary measure and to assist the FAI I wrote a cheque for €100,000 from my personal account to the FAI. This cheque was made payable to the FAI and I gave it to our director of finance, Eamon Breen, telling him to only lodge the cheque if it became clear that the bank overdraft was going to be exceeded.

Later that afternoon I travelled to London and the next day I travelled on to Geneva, Switzerland, where I was attending UEFA business on behalf of the FAI. I recall phoning our honorary secretary, Mr. Michael Cody, informing him that I had made a precautionary payment to the FAI by way of a personal cheque for €100,000 to assist in the event that the bank overdraft was going to be exceeded. I informed him that I was very concerned and that I had to act quickly to assist the Football Association of Ireland. I recall also informing the then president Mr. Tony Fitzgerald who was chairman of the board at the time.

The following day while I was in Geneva I received a call from our director of finance, Eamon Breen, informing me that there was a requirement to lodge the cheque for €100,000 and he subsequently confirmed that request to me by email. I agreed that the cheque should be lodged. I asked the director of finance when I would be paid back and he said it would be as soon as the funds came in.

I subsequently received a cheque for €100,000 on 16 June 2017 from the Football Association of Ireland, repaying the amount in full and which I lodged to my personal account on 23 June 2017. I did not receive any interest payment and I would never have expected it. I was only acting to assist the FAI and for the benefit of Irish football.

I recall asking the director of finance, Eamon Breen, if the FAI had any reporting or disclosure obligations arising out of the €100,000 payment. There was a board meeting on Monday, 19 June 2017, and the €100,000 payment did not arise.

On Monday, 4 March 2019, I informed the board of the FAI of the precautionary payment I had made, following a media query received from The Sunday Times. On Saturday, 16 March 2019, I initiated court proceedings against The Sunday Timesat my own cost in relation to this matter because I believed at the time that this information had emanated from documentation that had been filed in the family courts. I accept that the overdraft limit issue arose on my watch as the chief executive officer. I wish that it had not happened but I acted in the best interests of the association.

We have an excellent and committed finance and administration team and body of employees at the FAI, and many voluntary workers and players at all levels throughout the country. I regret the embarrassment this entire issue has caused to them and the association but I did it in the best interests of football.

I will continue to assist fully the Football Association of Ireland in its engagements with Sport Ireland and Grant Thornton. When called upon to do so I will do likewise with Mazars and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement in their respective inquiries.

On legal advice I am precluded from making any further comments at this hearing in relation to the finances of the association or my former role as CEO, or on the €100,000 payment, either directly or indirectly.In the interests of fair procedures and natural justice I have made this statement to the committee and attended this meeting voluntarily, as I have attended many Oireachtas committees in the past. I am not in a position to answer any such questions here at this time. Given that some members of this committee have made highly prejudicial public pronouncements about me personally prior to my attendance here today, and in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling in the Kerins case, I ask that the committee respects this position.

I am happy to answer any other questions in relation to my current role as executive vice president responsible for UEFA and FIFA matters. As most members will know I am passionate about football and always have been. In my role as executive vice-president I look forward to welcoming the European under-17 boys championships to Ireland next month. This will see 16 teams play and provide at least 9,000 bed spaces for tourism for the country. Next year Dublin is one of 12 European cities to host the Euro 2020. This will see four matches played at the Aviva Stadium, hopefully including the Republic of Ireland team. We are currently bidding for the 2023 under-21 men's tournament with the Irish Football Association. This is a very significant project and demonstrates how the round ball can unify both associations on this island.

I would also like to see a Women's Champions League final being played in Dublin at the Aviva Stadium, perhaps to mark the 50th anniversary of the Women's Football Association in Ireland in 2023.

I, as an executive committee member of UEFA, along with my counterparts in Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England, am currently working on a feasibility study that we hope will result in the 2030 FIFA World Cup being hosted across these islands.

From a financial perspective UEFA would provide the FAI with somewhere between €15 million to €20 million annually depending on participation in major tournaments. It is a significant funder of the Football Association of Ireland.