Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 3 November 2021

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media

Governance in Irish Athletic Boxing Association: Discussion

Mr. John Treacy:

No. It is not an FAI situation. There are checks and balances in place in the IABA. The board is held responsible to make sure the executive accounts to it.

Reference was made to Billy Walsh. No one admires him more than me. He was a world-class coach and we should never have lost him. We came in here and we had a row with the IABA about it. Reference was made to Kieran Mulvey. He negotiated a deal, but it was not accepted by the IABA. He did a fantastic job in that situation. It is now water under the bridge. Bernard Dunne has rebuilt the programme.

It might be worth referring to a piece around corporate governance. We speak all the time to governing bodies about culture, treating people with respect, and valuing the opinion of others, whether they are on the board or the executive. Most of us, the chair included, give our time freely. That must be respected. People on boards should not be subjected to noise in the system. Everyone wants to do the best job he or she can when sitting on a board. I encourage everyone sitting on a board to respect the opinion of everyone on the board and to work together because that is what they are there to do. The job of a board member is to work for the betterment of the organisation. That includes asking the executive searching questions about how it runs its affairs, making sure there are checks and balances in place and that the executive is accountable. That is the way organisations should be run. I appeal to board members to work together for the betterment of the organisation.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.