Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also offer my sympathies to the people of Paris and of France and indeed to all Catholics around the world following the devastating fire which destroyed Notre-Dame Cathedral yesterday. For almost 700 years the iconic cathedral has survived war, rebellions and revolutions, and it will survive this, but the Irish people and the wider Catholic community are heartbroken by the events of yesterday. In this Holy Week we look for hope in the story of the resurrection and an answer to millions of prayers that have been said. As President Macron said today, Notre-Dame is part of the destiny of France and will, I am sure, be reborn and rebuilt.

Regarding the Football Association of Ireland, the Government very much shares the concern of taxpayers, the anger of football fans and the annoyance of the football grass roots with the revelations of how the FAI has been run in recent years, if not for much longer. The FAI is not a public body or a Government agency and its staff are not public servants. About 5% of its funding comes from Government agencies, almost all of which goes to very worthwhile programmes: youth in sport, women in sport, sports capital grants for local clubs around the country, with some funding also for the Euro 2020 games, which are due to be held in the Aviva next year and which I know so many of us are looking forward to. Government wants this to continue because it is our role to fund youth in sport, participation and women's sports, to help fund local clubs around the country and to support major tournaments. We cannot do this, however, until the accounting problems, financial irregularities and corporate governance problems in the FAI are put right. This was discussed at Cabinet this morning, and I know the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport is holding hearings today. I agree that investigations by Sport Ireland into the accounts and the finances of the FAI are necessary. It may also be necessary for the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, to carry out investigation under company law if there have been breaches of company law. These investigations need to take place. It would probably be best for Sport Ireland and the ODCE to decide the form of those investigations, but I agree that they are required. The objective must be to restore confidence in how the FAI is being run, ensuring we can get back to doing what we should be doing, that is, promoting this sport, funding it at grass-roots level for participation by young people and women in particular and ensuring that those involved in this really popular sport across the country are able to focus on what it does best.

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