Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 68 and 69 together.

The Irish Sports Council , ISC, funded by my Department, is the statutory body responsible for the promotion, development and co-ordination of sport which includes responsibility for dealing with the recognised sporting organisations and allocation of funding to same. The ISC was established on a statutory basis on 1 July 1999 and its functions outlined in section 6 of the Irish Sports Council Act 1999.

The council recognises more than 60 national governing bodies of sport, through which funding is allocated on an annual basis following a detailed analysis of their application forms. They are dealt with as autonomous organisations. There is no current requirement for these bodies to sign up to the just sport Ireland process, established by the Federation of Irish Sports in 2007 as a specialised independent arbitration and mediation facility.

From a legal perspective, I have no role in the day-to-day operations of the ISC. Under section 9 of the Irish Sports Council Act 1999, it must have regard to Government policy and comply with any general policy directive which may be given by the Minister but it is not under my control. The council is established as a corporate entity with legal personality and is responsible for its activities. I would be extremely concerned if moneys that otherwise would be invested in meeting the aims of the Government's policy on sport had to be used to meet the cost of legal settlements. My predecessor requested a full report on the case referred to by the Deputies from the Irish Sports Council on 15 March. I do not wish to make any further comment on this specific case until I have received and considered the Irish Sports Council's report, which I expect to receive in the coming weeks.

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