Mr. Packie Bonner:

I was in the association from 2003 until 2010, when I left, and I have been back in recent years. I can only talk about those two periods. I can talk about the middle one from a distance. Early on, of course, we went through a period of huge growth. Within our technical department, when I was technical director, many things were developed. We had a serious plan. Even our grassroots programmes led the way within UEFA. I work with UEFA at the moment. The programmes instigated a lot of the UEFA thinking and helped other federations. Of course, during the next period, the other bodies probably caught up on us a little. They are doing a lot of things we did then.

On governance, I can talk only about my time on the board. A lot of work had started and a great deal had to be done. Members will know there were over 160 recommendations that the board and executive had to follow up on. I am delighted to say that almost 97% of these have been implemented.

From my perspective, what we have been discussing today has been disappointing, but Sport Ireland and the Department have given their opinion on what has been achieved. Much has been achieved in the area of governance. I will leave it at that.

From a football perspective, I believe we are going in the right direction. I am delighted to say the putting in place of the facilities plan, the strategic plan, is a genuine positive. The audit carried out was a real help from that perspective. When I started, in 2002, the capital grants programme had been in place for probably three or four years and we had not really progressed as a football organisation to avail of it. However, we got capital grants amounting to nearly €52 million in 2002. That was the start. I saw so many projects established and progressed around the country in that period, but, of course, the game has changed dramatically. Participation in the women’s game has gone through the roof. Many clubs who were developing their clubs and facilities at the time in question are probably up to maximum and need help again from that perspective.