Vol. 484 No. 1
23 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the meetings, if any, which have taken place with the executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland since he took office; and if decisions have been made in relation to funding for 1997. [21301/97]
27 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the meetings, if any, which have taken place with the executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland since he took office; and if decisions have been made in relation to funding for 1997. [21307/97]
37 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the meetings, if any, which have taken place with the executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland since he took office; and if decisions have been made in relation to funding for 1997. [21303/97]
38 Ms Clune asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the meetings, if any, which have taken place with the executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland since he took office; and if decisions have been made in relation to funding for 1997. [21310/97]
48 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the meetings, if any, which have taken place with the executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland since he took office; and if decisions have been made in relation to funding for 1997. [21304/97]
56 Mr. L. Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the meetings, if any, which have taken place with the Executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland since he took office; and if decisions have been made in relation to funding for 1997. [21302/97]
58 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the meetings, if any, which have taken place with the executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland since he took office; and if decisions have been made in relation to funding for 1997. [21309/97]
65 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the meetings, if any, which have taken place with the executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland since he took office; and if decisions have been made in relation to funding for 1997. [21308/97]
72 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the meetings, if any, which have taken place with the executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland since he took office; and if decisions have been made in relation to funding for 1997. [21306/97]
74 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the meetings, if any, which have taken place with the executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland since he took office; and if decisions have been made in relation to funding for 1997. [21305/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 23, 27, 37, 38, 48, 56, 58, 65, 72 and 74 together.
I met the President of the Olympic Council of Ireland shortly after taking up office in July 1997. The following grant payments have been made to the Olympic Council of Ireland to help cover expenses relating to projects in 1997: European Youth Olympic Days, £45,000, and Italian Exchange Scheme £9,000. Both myself and the Sports Council are currently in correspondence with the Olympic Council regarding applications from it for further assistance in respect of various funding requests under active consideration at present.
It is obvious from the Minister's reply that an annual allocation has not been made to the Olympic Council this year. Has he been successful in getting a full statement of accounts from the Olympic Council for this year or a quarterly cash flow statement?
I made numerous requests to the IOC to try to obtain information to pay the council's grants this year. I have twice requested the Olympic Council of Ireland to give me a cash flow statement of what it has but I have not received a reply to date. I was shocked to hear the President of the Olympic Council recently say he was prepared to lay off people because of a cash flow crisis. I asked the President of the Olympic Council to show me the cash flow accounts but he has refused to bring them to my attention and yet has threatened lay offs, which I find extraordinary. If the council is not prepared to give me a statement of its current cash flow, I will wonder why.
Will the Minister carry out an investigation into the situation surrounding a fund set up in Atlanta by a group of supporters of Irish athletes which made a payment to the Olympic Council late last year or early in 1997 of well over $100,000? To my knowledge, athletes have not been paid money from that contribution. Earlier this year the Olympic Council said it was unable to fund the medical expenses of top athletes because of its cash flow problem despite the fact it received at least $113,000 in Atlanta on top of a previous contribution of $100,000. Will the Minister carry out an investigation into this which, as he said, is most unsatisfactory?
I was unaware of any individuals providing funding to the Olympic Council and of the $100,000 to $113,000 in question. I will continue to ask for cash flow statements from the Olympic Council because I am statutorily bound to do so. Last year the Comptroller and Auditor General made such a request and said they were satisfactory. He also made the point that cash flow accounts were needed to formulate what type of grant to give to the council. I received numerous requests from the President of the Olympic Council asking me to fund events, namely the winter olympics and the world youth student games which are coming up. I will be unable to do so unless I get cash flow statements from the council.
I welcome the Minister's commitment to continue the policy adopted by his predecessor earlier this year. Will he state clearly that no funding will be made available until the circumstances behind the money presented by the supporters' group in Atlanta are fully investigated?
That will be the case until I know about the cash flow situation in the Olympic Council. I arranged a meeting between my officials and those from the council. I set up the meeting for the end of August. Officials from the Olympic Council stated that they would meet my officials towards the end of August pending agreement with the President of the council but I have not received a reply to this day.
Has the sponsorship row between the OCI and its affiliate members been resolved? Is he aware how it is progressing? I will give the Minister the details later if he does not have them.
Perhaps the Deputy will give me details of the row. It may be a matter between the Olympic Council and its sponsors but I am not aware of anything.
Written Answers follow General Resolution.
