Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It might well be so. All I am saying is that a Member of the Oireachtas had the courtesy of inviting me to a meeting I could not attend on Monday last and I contacted Mr. Niall Quinn stating that I would be happy to invite them in here. I spoke to the clerk to the committee about it. What I am getting at is there is a great deal of goodwill out there. I want to make this point clearly. There is a crisis in the football association and I want to make sure that everybody who wants to have an input has a vehicle for doing that. Perhaps through here might be the way.

The question on the crisis management is that while I have every confidence both in the Minister and in Sport Ireland, in reference to Deputy Catherine Murphy's point, if there are any additional skills and expertise needed, these should be made available and the Minister should find a way to get these to them.

The other point is one I made earlier. I acknowledge the wish of the Minister to meet UEFA before Christmas. The fact that the meeting will not take place until 14 January concerns me. That is not a criticism. It seems the quicker that meeting can take place, the better. The downside of all of this is coming at us like an express train. Any time that is lost in getting a solution worries me. UEFA needs to be at the table. It needs to be there now. I agree with the Minister of State that it should meet him before Christmas. This will not get better. It will get worse. The implications for the national team, the league and young people are considerable.