Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I wish to raise again the issue of corruption in sport, on which I have been ruled out of order several times. As recently as last night, in a football match between Motherwell and Hearts, a player was sent off. There has now been a formal investigation into the incident by both the Association of British Bookmakers and the Scottish Football Association because of suspicious activity on the betting markets.

I beg the House's pardon. I cannot speak because there are so many conversations taking place.

While we are not drawing any conclusions regarding the player at the centre of the allegation, I seek a debate on the need for an international agency to combat organised crime in sport. Too many issues are arising right across the board in this regard. I have had informal discussions on the subject, even with sports associations in Ireland. I declare an interest in that I am chair of the youth and sport committee of the Council of Europe. It has been charged with putting together a report on this matter. If Ireland, a very good sporting nation, does not have an opinion on it, there is something seriously wrong.

Perhaps it is just good luck that someone bet €500 that there would be a red card and it just happened to pay off. There was no abnormality found in the betting market but when this specific case was examined, it was concluded that there was a lot of suspicious activity. With exchange betting, it has become easier for people to bet on small incidents within and between games, thereby opening up massive opportunities for very serious crime and very serious allegations of match fixing. These should not go unnoticed and should be very much exposed to ensure the integrity of sport.