Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I cannot comment on individual cases. There has been great success at the high-performance level during the summer, not least in the sport of boxing. Responsibility falls on the Irish Sports Council to ensure, through the carding system, that we support top athletes and that there is sufficient funding for the relevant organisations. That is the council's major role and will be in the coming years as we prepare for the Olympic Games.

In regard to whose views were heard and whose were not in the legal case we are discussing, I reiterate that one side of the story was given comprehensively in court and the transcripts of that are included on the Department's website. The Irish Sports Council did not take the opportunity in the High Court to give its side, so its report is also included on the website. A settlement was reached in this matter. We all accept that Mr. Mulvey is the right man with the right skills for the role of chairman. As I said, I have impressed upon him the importance of dealing with governance issues. That is not to say there were failures in the past, but there were three or four cases which should not have arisen and which cost the State money. Even prior to appointing the new chairman I indicated to the council the importance of the "just sport" idea, which has been discussed in this House, whereby mediation and arbitration should always be used in the first instance. As far as possible, the courts should never be used when it comes to sport.

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