Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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14. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the engagement his Department has had with organisations (details supplied) or any other stakeholders following the publication of concerns regarding the welfare of athletes in the high performance programmes at one of the organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63389/25]

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister the engagement his Department has had with organisations, in particular Rowing Ireland, or any other stakeholders, following the publication of concerns regarding the welfare of athletes in the high performance programmes. In fairness, we have all seen it - anybody who has read Paul Kimmage or heard any of the podcasts he has dealt with. It is frightening. We have seen the huge success there has been in rowing and we would like to make sure these particular issues are addressed.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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First, and as I have previously and consistently said, it is imperative that it is made clear that there is simply no place for abuse of any kind in sport and that there is zero tolerance for any actions that endanger welfare, whether for participants, staff or those who work for and support sports across the country.

Sport Ireland, which is funded by my Department, works with national governing bodies of sport, NGBs, to ensure that appropriate policies are put in place to take a proactive approach to safeguarding by identifying and mitigating risks to athlete welfare. It also works with national governing bodies to ensure mechanisms are in place to appropriately react to and handle complaints or issues when they arise.

Sport Ireland has informed my Department that when alerted to athlete welfare concerns within the sport in question, it reacted sympathetically, promptly and robustly to the issues within the context of its own statutory remit.

Rowing Ireland, in consultation with Sport Ireland, undertook an independent review after the 2024 Paris Olympics and this prompted changes within its high-performance programme. The previous high-performance director, on conclusion of his contract, has departed the role and the programme is now operating under new leadership.

It is also important to note that all national governing bodies are independent autonomous organisations responsible for their own governance, including safeguarding procedures, personnel choices, and disciplinary and complaints processes.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am not going to get into the specifics of this. We have all seen it. We know those who have been named. We were even very shocked in relation to the people who, luckily enough, brought this to the attention of the world. What the Minister of State said sounds fine. It is just about ensuring not only that Rowing Ireland has sufficient protocols to ensure we are looking after the welfare of all those involved, including staff, but particularly those who are going out there and doing their absolute for this country. We have had huge success in relation to that but in terms of anything that relates to the issues I have read about, I am not going to go into it because I accept there is nobody here to defend themselves in relation to it. I accept what the Minister of State is talking about in relation to staff being dealt with but can we ensure that we have the protocols across the board, that we have the checks and balances, and that Sport Ireland is also playing its part to ensure that we do not have lapses or situations like this? We will never have a perfect system but we need to make sure that we look after those who are doing their utmost in the sporting field and in other fields.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Sport Ireland has a comprehensive approach to athlete well-being and that is reflected in its athlete welfare policy under the high performance strategy, which runs from 2021 to 2032. To support that policy, national governing bodies are expected to develop their own internal documents, which reflect best practice strategies in respect of athlete welfare.

In 2021, Sport Ireland introduced a culture evolution programme to support national governing bodies to protect and maximise the holistic experience and welfare of athletes, coaches and support staff. This includes a culture review process, an audit delivered by the high performance culture and integrity adviser. That high performance culture and integrity adviser was appointed in 2021 to support that process and to support that engagement with the national governing bodies as well.

In August 2023, a new national code of conduct template for sporting organisations was launched by Sport Ireland. That code of conduct template sets out the guidelines and principles and promotes the behaviour and conduct expected from our athletes, coaches, parents, guardians, supporters, referees, officials and club members.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate what the Minister of State said. As I said, I was shocked when I saw it, in particular in relation to the sport where we have had a huge level of success. I suppose the question is: how do we ensure this code of conduct is to a degree enforced or policed and that each of the national governing bodies has sufficient level of protocols, checks and balances to ensure we look after the welfare of all those involved from the staff and athletes throughout?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We do it by having the right policies and support network in place, as I said, in terms of the work over the past three or four years, in terms of developing the national approach and the programme to support this and, in particular, the appointment of the high performance culture and integrity adviser to support that work. The latter is an important piece to do with it. Sport Ireland certainly is leading out on this. We very much support that work and acknowledge the absolute importance of it too.