Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I wish to flag some matters regarding the Mazars report. One of the big issues is that the 5% of funding coming through Sport Ireland is public money. We have a responsibility to hold Sport Ireland to account for it. There is also public money when it comes to merchandising, ticketing and so forth. A constant and understandable criticism is that the AGM is a closed affair. That must change from this year and the issue must be included in the list. There have to be safeguards to ensure the elections will be open and fair. It must be crafted properly in advance of the AGM.

There is no mention of other skills. There might be a need to look at the other skill sets required to make this a modern organisation that has the capacity to deal with things. It may well be that the nature of the offices requires certain credentials in terms of skill sets or at least a mix of skill sets.

We received a reply from the FAI in which it stated €430,000 was contained in note 20 of the 2016 financial statements. I looked at its accounts for the four years 2014 to 2018. I live a pretty sad life. Essentially, it looks as if some of it was copied and pasted. For example, for related parties there is the same figure each year, which does not look right. I ask that the matter be examined.

The other important issue is that there was an absence of people who felt they could come forward in terms of whistleblowing, perhaps in the belief there would be a consequence for their club if they raised something. That culture has to change. There will have to be something specific about it in the Mazars report. Internal whistleblowing is very important if one is to change the culture. I ask the representatives to ensure that issue will be addressed in the Mazars report to the extent it can be.

I understand the FAI council can remove the board. It can call an EGM. It is possible to do so. It was very much bypassed in the Jonathan Hall Associates report. It was a new position that was set up, but it had no hand, act or part in it. When I asked about it last week, I was told that it had not been consulted and did not need to be. That is plain wrong. The representatives have said there has been only one CEO. The lines of responsibility will have to be very well defined.

Who will pay for the audit the delegates will have to organise? I know that Sport Ireland does it every three years, but this one will be more extensive. It will be Sport Ireland, but are there sufficient funds to carry out this type of audit?