Mr. David Courell:

I thank the Deputy for introducing that very pertinent point.

The point was made earlier about the growth in the women's game, and while it is fantastic that we now have 55,000 women and girls registered and playing football, that still leaves the balance who are men. Our volunteer base is growing in female representation but it is still quite heavily male dominated. It would remiss of us, and I thank the Deputy for mentioning it, not to acknowledge that. It is sad to see and hear that some of the experiences that were introduced to us through the Raiseaconcern process extend to both genders. People need to know that we in the FAI genuinely take these matters seriously. We are contending with a lot of them at the moment but we are encouraged by the fact that people view the administration in a light such that they believe if they bring a complaint forward, we will act on it. We now have the right procedures in place, with the ability to enter into a confidential process. We offer full support, through different services, on a private basis to anybody who engages with our processes to make sure that they have the right framework and support network around them. We want to make sure they can come through the really difficult time of disclosing any issues they may have. I want people to recognise that and believe in us. We genuinely do place a huge emphasis on this space and we will respect the confidence of people and welcome that type of engagement. Our ambition is to make Irish football as safe as possible.