Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and wish all of the new Ministers well in their portfolios. It is nothing personal; this is business.

As the Minister knows, the memorandum of understanding, MOU, with the FAI is a Shane Ross production.

His ghost is very much alive as we see. It was very much drawn from the same ether as his failed judicial appointments Bill, where he wanted everybody under the sun to be independent without the appropriate expertise to run the show. Naturally, as a Parliament we prevented that proceeding. I am sure the Minister played a part in that himself and it is important that he did. Thankfully, that ridiculous and absurd legislation did not proceed.

It seems, however, that this memorandum of understanding, MOU, is proceeding. I am a bit confused whether the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan is in charge or whether it is the responsibility of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin or the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers. In any event, I took some solace and encouragement from a media report last week when the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, first took up his post in the Custom House. The media report said he assembled the assistant secretaries, the Secretary General and all the senior staff and told them how things were going to be. I was very encouraged and delighted to see that approach.

Meanwhile, however, in the Minister, Deputy Ryan's, Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and whatever else is in there, the Secretary General assembled the Ministers and told them how things were going to be, because they signed a letter telling the chairman of the FAI they would stand 100% behind the MOU. This is the same MOU that wants the same ridiculous absurd independent majority to run football, which puts the FAI as an outlier in the world so that people can pull the strings from afar. Instead of the corruption of the past, it will be a new form of corruption. Spurious allegations are going around at present about tenders being given for Covid-19 testing and how the chairman, the interim CEO and the deputy CEO were put into their respective positions. Of course, all three were members of the visionary group.

I have raised many questions about this. Before he was Taoiseach, the Fianna Fáil Party leader suggested to me that if in government, we would review the MOU. I agreed 100% and promoted it in the media as such but the engine had not gone cold in the Minister's car when he went into the Department to ensure the Shane Ross lunacy is going to continue.

Why did the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, not sign the letter if he was in charge? Can he answer that question? It prohibits good hard-working directors who served in the past, who stood up to the previous regime and were thrown under the bus under the eyes and blessing, no doubt, of Sport Ireland, from serving on any committee in the future. The last thing we want is a bit of expertise around the place that knows about football.

In any event, the main crux of this issue is I believe the chairman acted beyond his authority in signing this on behalf of the FAI. Now the Minister has gone ahead and has lent €212,000 per month. Three payments have been made thus far, in January, February and March, perhaps illegally and perhaps exposing the State to never getting paid again. Article 3(8) of the constitution of the Football Association of Ireland states that the board of management shall not at any time borrow any sum in excess of €1.27 million without the express sanction of the council in line with section 158 of the Companies Act 2014.

Here is the situation. We have lent out, thus far, €632,000. As the FAI did not give authority to the chairman to borrow that money, theoretically, we are losing money; we might never get paid.

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