LEO: COME CLEAN DELANEY
Taoiseach demands EX-FAI chief tells all in TWO probes over €100k loan
JOHN Delaney must spill the beans about his €100,000 FAI loan, the Taoiseach demanded yesterday. Leo Varadkar blasted the ex-soccer chief for stonewalling a Dail committee, adding Sport Ireland and a corporate watchdog will want answers. He said: “They have questions to ask John Delaney.”
THE Taoiseach criticised John Delaney yesterday for refusing to answer questions about a €100,000 loan he gave the FAI.
Leo Varadkar also revealed the Government will “carry out an investigation to ensure money was being properly used” by the soccer body.
He said Mr Delaney and the FAI still have “questions to answer”.
Mr Varadkar added he wasn’t impressed by Mr Delaney at the Oireachtas sport committee on Wednesday when he refused to answer a number of questions.
Speaking in Cork, he said: “I don’t think anyone would be satisfied by it. I think the public, taxpayers, fans would have like those questions being answered.”
The FAI has had half of its €2.7million funding from Sport Ireland suspended in the wake of the storm
Mr Varadkar added: “The most important thing from the Government’s point of view is to make sure the millions of euros in taxpayers money we give to the FAI has been used for the purpose intended.
“That is for facilities around the country, investment in youth and women’s sport.
“We need to carry out an investigation now to make sure that money was being properly used. I am actually very keen to restore funding to the FAI because we want that money to flow to local clubs.
“We just need to make sure that it is spent appropriately.
“In terms of John Delaney, the FAI is actually not a public body – it is a private organisation, so he is within his legal rights not to account to the Oireachtas. “He is not a public servant and not accountable to the Oireachtas.
“But the FAI will have to account to Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement and to Sport Ireland. They have questions to ask John Delaney and the board will have to answer them.”
Sponsors Three and New Balance yesterday called on the FAI to implement all recommendations from the Grant Thornton and Mazars reviews.
In a statement Three said: “Corporate governance is of upmost importance at Three and we expect the same from all partners we work with.
A New Balance spokesman said: “We note with interest the FAI has commissioned various reports to review recent financial and corporate governance matters and we urge it to implement all recommendations.”
Sponsor SSE Airtricity said it is monitoring developments while Bus Eireann said it will continue to discuss and
review its association.
Taxpayers and fans would have liked to see questions answered LEO VARADKAR CORK YESTERDAY