SPORTS MINISTER PATRICK O’Donovan has said he was “disappointed that it took my intervention” for the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to attend a Joint Oireachtas Committee on Wednesday.

The Association had withdrawn from a planned appearance before the committee last week, where they were invited to discuss their safeguarding procedures following revelations made in a joint investigation by RTÉ and the Sunday Independent, citing legal advice as a Garda investigation is ongoing.

However, officials later informed the committee that a five-person delegation would attend. 

Speaking to reporters in New York, O’Donovan said it took his intervention to prompt the football association’s u-turn. 

“That shouldn’t happen,” he said. “I hope that other sporting organisations, or any other organisation that I have responsibility for… would look on and say, if you’re in receipt of large sums of money, I expect you to be accountable to the taxpayer.

“Non-engagement is not an option, and I’ve been very firm on that.”

In the bruising appearance before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport on Wednesday, chairperson Alan Kelly described the FAI’s display as “farcical”, “unprecedented”, and “one of the strangest committee meetings I was ever at”.

Kelly also said the FAI’s behaviour prior to attending the meeting was “disrespectful to the people of Ireland” after they initially deferred their invitation.

O’Donovan said he did not see all of the committee appearance, but that his officials attended. 

He added: “I don’t want to be getting involved in committees of the Oireachtas again as Minister. It’s not the Minister’s role to be telling somebody that you have to go into a committee, and I hope that’s the last time I have to do that.”

He also said that reform of the organisation must be accelerated. 

Last year, the Government signed off a new Memorandum of Understanding with the FAI, agreeing to fund the association to the tune of €6m a year until the end of 2027.

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As part of the deal, the FAI is required to continue to make reforms to its internal governance structures as well as reviewing and reforming its grassroots leagues at amateur and underage level.

O’Donovan said part of the memorandum of understanding involves “the trickling down effect of governance to the affiliates”. 

“There’s no doubt about it that there are problems,” he said.

“It is heavily resourced at the moment by the taxpayer. We have to get to a trajectory where that doesn’t continue, because we can’t, quite frankly, have the FAI as an appendage of the government. That can’t continue.”

He says the organisation “has to be salvageable” because there has to be a national association for the development of football in Ireland.

“There’s obviously a journey, and some people might not be as enthusiastic about the journey of reform as others, but we have to see that accelerated and be brought to a conclusion.”