FAI seek to postpone Wednesday's Oireachtas committee hearing
Football Association of Ireland
have requested a four-week deferment of their scheduled appearance before the Oireachtas sport committee.
Senior members of the Association are due in Leinster House on Wednesday but have sought more time due to 'the complexity introduced by the committee seeking material that relates directly to an ongoing Garda investigation'.
The FAI also requested that the 'scope of the session is clearly defined'.
The Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media has been approached for a response.
READ MORE
[
FAI board holds unscheduled board meeting after standoff with Oireachtas sport committee
Opens in new window
]
The ongoing Garda investigation relates to allegations against former male coaches of inappropriate relationships with female players and unwanted sexual advances dating back to the 1990s.
The allegations were first made public last year by a joint project by RTÉ Investigates and the Sunday Independent. Gardaí have confirmed they are investigating at least one complaint concerning the matter.
The former coaches have denied any wrongdoing.
The FAI board held an unscheduled meeting on Friday before seeking the four-week postponement from the Oireachtas committee on Monday morning.
'When the formal invite was received on Friday 27th June the committee requested a broad range of documents, many that relate specifically to an ongoing Garda investigation,' a statement from the FAI read.
'Given the complexities involved in collating and considering our ability to comply with this request and to enable adequate preparation time we have sought a deferral of four weeks. Any disclosure must also be assessed carefully for legal and GDPR compliance given the sensitive and confidential nature of safeguarding information requested.
'Over the intervening period we will continue to liaise with the committee to ensure the scope of the session is clearly defined to ensure that no parties could inadvertently compromise an ongoing investigation.
'We fully respect the important work of the joint committee and acknowledge the critical oversight role it plays in relation to legislation, policy, governance, expenditure and administration of the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport. The FAI is fully committed to engaging constructively with the Committee on this matter and we look forward to them defining a revised date where this session can proceed.'
Speaking under Dáil privilege last month, Fianna Fáil TD Pádraig O'Sullivan said the FAI knew of the allegations in 2023, 'despite the FAI stating publicly that it only learned of these allegations in early 2024'.
Mr O'Sullivan said he had seen correspondence dating to May 4th, 2023, which laid this out in 'black and white'.
Minister of State for Sport Charlie McConalogue subsequently stated his department and Sport Ireland believe the FAI had engaged appropriately with the allegations, and that once it received a formal complaint in January 2024 it acted swiftly and contacted Gardaí.
Despite requesting the four-week postponement, the FAI has accepted the invitation to appear before the Oireachtas sport committee on Wednesday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Irish Times
US may limit Aer Lingus flights because of Dublin Airport passenger cap, industry group warns
The Government may have just months to axe the 32-million-a-year cap on passengers at Dublin Airport before the US limits Aer Lingus flights to its airports, a North American industry group warns. Airlines for America (A4A), whose members include US and Canadian carriers that fly from the US to the Republic, maintains that the passenger limit on Dublin Airport breaches European Union-North American open-skies air-travel treaties. According to Keith Glatz, A4A's senior vice-president of international affairs, the US could respond to the cap by limiting Irish airlines' access to the US. Aer Lingus is the only Irish carrier offering regular scheduled transatlantic flights. Mr Glatz explained that he was not speaking for the US government, but noted that 'typically' Washington's department of transportation can respond to an illegal breach of the treaty by limiting the number of cities to which a country's airlines can fly. READ MORE He cautioned that the time left for the Irish Government to end the cap and avoid such a sanction was narrowing. 'We're talking about a couple of months to get this done, and not a year,' Mr Glatz said. The pressure from the US administration on the Government to act is likely to increase as time progresses, he predicted. [ Dublin Airport passenger cap to be breached this year, says DAA Opens in new window ] Mr Glatz stressed that A4A believed that Darragh O'Brien, Minister for Transport and the Government, wanted to keep a pledge to lift the cap and ensure the Republic complied with air-travel treaties. He also maintained that his organisation had good relationships with both Mr O'Brien and the Department of Transport. 'We're working closely with them, they're working with the US government, they're moving, but slower than we would like them to move,' he said. How the wealthy are buying up land to avoid inheritance tax Listen | 22:03 'They understand that they have to do this, and that now is the time to get this done, before a small issue becomes a larger, international dispute.' A4A believes that legislation to lift the cap is drafted, meaning that it is simply a matter of time before the Oireachtas passes it and the cap is lifted. Planners imposed the limit in 2007 as a condition of allowing airport operator, DAA, to build a second terminal at Dublin, to address fears of traffic congestion. Shortly after taking office in January, Mr O'Brien confirmed that he had sought the advice of Rossa Fanning, Attorney General, on resolving the row through legislation. The Minister subsequently predicted this would be ready by the autumn. A department spokesman said on Monday that the Minister was examining a range of issues relating to the passenger cap and was continuing to 'engage with key stakeholders'. The High Court suspended the cap's implementation when it referred questions raised in a legal challenge by airlines to the European courts. A4A is a party to that challenge, initiated by Aer Lingus and Ryanair, but Mr Glatz said that the referred issues related to European and Irish competition law, not to European Union-North American air-travel treaties. He argued that those treaties made possible the Republic's relationship with the US, worth trillions of dollars, and predicted that lifting the cap would spark further growth. Aer Lingus did not comment on any likely sanctions but the airline has consistently warned of the economic damage that it threatens.
Irish Daily Mirror
37 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
AI predicts who will win the 2025 All-Ireland Football Championship
2025 has been one of the most unpredictable All-Ireland Football Championships in recent times. Few would have predicted Meath ending Dublin's long undefeated run in the Leinster Championship before going down to Louth in the Leinster final. And fewer still would have imagined the Royals getting to the semi-finals after wins over Kerry and Galway along the way. Meath are joined in the last four by Kerry, Donegal and Tyrone, but we are scratching our heads over the likely winners. So we have asked artificial intelligence to do the job for us. We tasked ChatGPT with predicting the winner of this year's All-Ireland Football Championship, and the answer was pretty definitive. ChatGPT has predicted that Kerry, who impressed in dethroning Armagh in the quarter-finals, will lift the Sam Maguire Cup. Citing their potent attack, led by the Clifford brothers and Seanie O'Shea, they think they will have too much scoring power for Tyrone in their semi-final. In the other semi-final, while recognising Meath's fairytale story, they think Donegal have the stronger squad and will advance to the decider. But ultimately, ChatGPT thinks that Kerry's form and pedigree will see them beat Donegal in the final and win a second All-Ireland title in four years.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
The hurling All-Star winners, as things stand
It's that time of year again to consider who going into Sunday week's All-Ireland SHC final stands the best chance of picking up the individual All Star awards later in the year: Patrick Collins (Cork) A close-run thing here. Collins has been ever-present in the championship unlike his Tipperary counterpart and his puck-outs have been excellent. A save or two as well. Next best: Rhys Shelly (Tipperary). Robert Doyle (Tipperary) The find of the season. Doyle has put the brakes on some of the game's most lethal forwards and had the presence of mind to keep out John Donnelly's shot. Huw Lawlor (Kilkenny) He had some difficulty on Sunday but Lawlor was supreme in the Leinster championship and is unlikely to be shifted when the final 15 is selected. Seán O'Donoghue (Cork) A sensational performance against Dublin, O'Donoghue has put behind a middling 2024 season with effective, efficient performances going back to the league. Read More Brian Gavin: Widegate scoreboard error unfair on Kilkenny but difficult to contest result Eoghan Connolly (Tipperary) Thirteen points from defence is quite the number. Has kiboshed and outscored forwards too. Connolly is a first cousin of his Sunday's match-winner Oisín O'Donoghue. Ciarán Joyce (Cork) Man of the match in the Munster final and the round win over Waterford. Joyce is becoming the half-back the keen observers in Cork always expected him to be. Mark Coleman (Cork) A second look at the Munster round meeting with Limerick is kinder on Coleman and he has been excellent since. His distribution and clean-up work is huge for Cork. Next best: Niall O'Leary (Cork); John Bellew (Dublin); Mikey Carey (Kilkenny); Kyle Hayes, Dan Morrissey (both Limerick); Ronan Maher (Tipperary). Cian Kenny (Kilkenny) We had Kenny in our midfield this time last year only for him to be squeezed out and the James Stephens man could lose out once more but what a dynamic hurler. Darragh Fitzgibbon (Cork) Last year's hurler of the year nominee is in the shake-up again. His partner Tim O'Mahony is progressing rapidly while Fitzgibbon has been in fine form from the off. Next best: Tim O'Mahony (Cork); Jamie Barron (Waterford). Tipperary's Jake Morris and Mikey Butler of Kilkenny. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie Jake Morris (Tipperary) A season in which he has embraced the leadership role in the Tipperary attack and 26 points across the championship is a handsome account for the Nenagh man. Cathal Mannion (Galway) The beacon in a bog of a season for Galway. Mannion is playing the hurling of his life after overcoming his ankle issues. Could only drag a faltering team so far this year. Andrew Ormond (Tipperary) A two-time man of the match winner, Ormond absorbed a lot of Kilkenny attention and shipped heavy hits but stood resolute. Next to Doyle, the most improved player. Cian O'Sullivan (Dublin) An outrageously good season for the St Brigid's man who scored 2-5 at the weekend to bring his SHC haul to 5-22. Should bridge the gap to Dublin's last All Stars in 2013. Brian Hayes (Cork) The leading hurler of the year contender, not just because of his scoring (5-8) but how he knits the attack together and is a focal point. Has everything going for him. Martin Keoghan (Kilkenny) His team-mate Billy Ryan would have a strong shout too but Keoghan's six points brought his SHC total to 6-14. The display underlined he isn't just a goal merchant. Next best: Alan Connolly, Patrick Horgan (both Cork); Billy Ryan (Kilkenny); Cian Lynch (Limerick); Jason Forde (Tipperary); Lee Chin (Wexford).
