Limerick man questioned alongside John Delaney at Oireachtas hearing

COUNTY Limerick native and FAI president Donal Conway has said the organisation is keen to restore confidence and rebuild its relationship with Sport Ireland. 

Mr Conway who is a native of Kilmallock was appearing before the Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport this Wednesday morning to address controversies surrounding the organisation's financial and governance arrangements.

Appearing before the committee in Leinster House alongside former chief executive John Delaney and other FAI officials, Mr Conway told members: "I know we have much work to do to rebuild trust and confidence in the Association, and we are committed to achieving this as a board.”

The FAI has been under the media spotlight since it emerged that  John Delaney loaned the FAI €100,000 in 2017 - a bridging payment that was not flagged to Sport Ireland, the state body that oversees the public funding of sporting organisations in the country.

TDs were told this Wednesday that Mr Delaney provided €100,000 to the organisation due to concern over a possible cash flow issue in 2017.

Donal Conway told the Oireachtas Sport Committee that there had been a concern that if all cheques that had been issued by the Association at the end of April were cashed at the same time, there was a likelihood of insufficient funds being available to cover all the cheques issued.

He said this was a short-term issue as there was an expectation of funds coming to the Association from ticket sales, sponsorship and other sources.

He said: “The CEO provided the Association with a personal cheque for €100,000 and thereby made funds available to provide some immediate financial relief.”

Mr Conway said that the following day, Wednesday, April 26, 2017, a request was received by email from a creditor who was entitled to draw down funds from the Association.

"The financial director made contact with the chief executive officer via email proposing to lodge cheque for €100,000 to the Association's bank account in order to honour the request for drawdown from the particular creditor.

"The board acknowledged that the circumstances of the above €100,000 transaction was exceptional and the repayment was subsequently made by the Association on the 16 of June 2017 to the then chief executive officer."

He added: "No contract or agreement was entered into between the Association and its then-chief executive officer.

"And further no interest and/or charges have been levied or paid by Association in respect of the transaction."

He said: "The board having been informed of the €100,000 payment further acknowledged that disclosure would be made in the necessary financial statements in accordance with the required accounting treatment and requirements of the Companies Act.

"The Association has since embarked on a review of its internal control processes and procedures in order to ensure that a situation of this nature could not arise again," Mr Conway added.

A former school teacher Mr Conway is the son of Dan and the late Helen Conway who ran the 41 Bar in Kilmallock for several years.