THE FAI HAS said that “all requested members” are to appear as scheduled in front of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport. 

In a statement this afternoon, the FAI said its board “recognises and shares the desire for the matters to be addressed as soon as possible”.

It also added that, along with a review from Mazars, Grant Thornton will also conduct an internal review of the association’s books, records and ledgers. 

John Delaney will appear before the Oireachtas on Wednesday along with the following people: 

• Donal Conway – President of the Board of the FAI
• Eddie Murray – Honorary Treasurer
• Paraic Treanor – Chairperson of the Legal and Corporate Affairs Committee
• Rea Walshe – Interim CEO and former Corporate Affairs and Licensing Director
• Person appointed to replace Rea Walshe as Corporate Affairs and Licensing Director

Grant Thornton has been at the FAI’s headquarters since 2 April.

Former FAI CEO John Delaney said he issued his employers a personal cheque worth €100,000 in April 2017 which he described as  “a once-off bridging loan to the Association to aid a very short-term cash flow issue”, following media reports in the Sunday Times.

Delaney said that the money was repaid in full in June 2017, and that it was the only occasion on which he issued the Association with a loan.  Sport Ireland said that the FAI did not give it a full explanation about all circumstances surrounding this loan. 

Addressing this aspect this afternoon, the FAI’s president Donal Conway said in a statement: “The Association has advised Sport Ireland that we are moving as fast as we can, being mindful of the complexity involved and the need to ensure that all statements we make are accurate and processes are fair and robust. 

“We also advised that some recent comments made by the FAI did not accurately reflect the Board’s level of awareness of the existence of the €100,000 issue in 2017. This matter is being considered by the Board sub-committee.”

The FAI has also been in correspondence with the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement and said it “remains available to assist in dealing with its particular inquiries”.

In the latest episode of our weekly podcast, The Explainer, we look at the reasons why the FAI’s John Delaney has been the focus of media attention of late. Find more ways to listen here.

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