John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to hear that. When Sport Ireland previously appeared before the committee, I made a comparison with the Olympic Council of Ireland and our guests very much agreed on the way that process was started. In that case, although the president who was appointed, Sarah Keane, had been on the board for a couple of years, she had been an open critic of what had been going on. She has done a wonderful job and she was elected.

The optics of this issue, however, are in contrast to that. As has been noted, at Mr. Conway's appearance before the committee, he was given an unfair job by his own CEO to protect him. From that point of view, Mr. Conway did the job quite well. This is a start, as Mr. Treacy indicated, but it is not a good start as a straw in the wind of what might happen down the road. That is the danger. The impression I get is that the reforms have a 50:50 chance of being voted down. It appears that the crisis thus far might look like a tea party compared with the crisis that is to come.

While I can see the argument for some continuity, the continuity in this case will be provided by someone who has been a member of the board for 14 years. While he may have steadied the waters, he was in place throughout the period when incorrect and questionable decisions were made. The Institute of Public Administration's report is independent but I detect a difference of opinion from that of Sport Ireland. The latter wanted a clear-out whereas the former's report made a different point.