FAI seek to postpone Wednesday's Oireachtas Committee appearance by four weeks
The Committee invitation followed a claim made under Dáil privilege by Pádraig O'Sullivan TD that the FAI were aware of allegations made against a former women's national team manager's behaviour towards female footballers before they came to light in the media through a joint investigation by RTÉ and the Sunday Independent.
The allegations against the manager in question came to light in an RTÉ Investigates programme broadcast in July 2024. Speaking under Dáil privilege last month, Pádraig O'Sullivan TD said he had seen correspondence which suggested the FAI were aware of the allegations nine months before the broadcast of the RTÉ Investigates programme.
Minister of State at the department of sport Charlie McConalogue told the Dáil that the FAI did not respond inappropriately to the allegations, saying they acted in accordance with mandatory reporting requirements by contacting An Garda Síochána and Tusla once the Association received a formal complaint in January 2024.
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Subsequent to these remarks by O'Sullivan, the Oireachtas Sport Committee issued an invitation to the FAI to appear before them to discuss their safeguarding policies and procedures.
The FAI have now confirmed they will appear before the Committee, though have requested a four-week delay from the scheduled appearance date of Wednesday, 9 July to 'to enable adequate preparation time, given the complexity introduced by the Committee seeking material that relates directly to an ongoing Garda investigation.'
The FAI requested the delay in a letter to this Committee this morning. They received an acknowledgement of the letter, but the Committee did not immediately respond to its request for a postponement.
'When the formal invite was received on Friday 27 June (eight working days prior to the session) the Committee requested a broad range of documents, many that relate specifically to an ongoing Garda investigation,' continued an FAI statement.
'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.
'The Association would like to reiterate that everyone involved in Irish football should, at all times, feel that they are in a safe environment. If you have experienced any form of abuse within Irish football, you can report it by visiting www.fai.ie/safeguarding.'
The 42 has contacted the Oireachtas sport committee for comment.
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