Call for Delaney to quit rejected
A Fine Gael backbencher has received a strong rebuke from two senior ministers over his calls for John Delaney to resign. Tánaiste Simon Coveney and Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan have hit out at Dublin North-West TD Noel Rock after he called on the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) chief executive to step down.
Mr Delaney has been asked to come before the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Sport to provide “urgent clarity” on the circumstances of his alleged €100,000 bridging loan to his own organisation. The FAI has claimed that it received the loan at a time when it had a short-term cashflow issue, but Sport Ireland has said it was never made aware of any financial issues.
Mr Flanagan said he strongly disagrees with Mr Rock, claiming his resignation call was “entirely premature”.
“John Delaney and the FAI have been invited to a session where some questions will be answered,” Mr Flanagan told the Irish Examiner at the Fine Gael national conference last night.
“I think it is entirely inappropriate that the end game be decided before it has even commenced.
“I’d like to hear from John Delaney and the FAI. The Dáil committee will deal with that and I am not a member of the committee but I will be tuned in to see what the answers are.
“Any organisation that gets any form of State funding should be required to produce full and detailed accounts on an annual basis and the FAI is no different.”
Mr Coveney also said that people “need to listen to what John Delaney has to say” before there are any “broader political considerations” or decisions made around his future.
Asked if Mr Rock was wrong to call for Mr Delaney’s head, the Tánaiste said: “Listen, Noel Rock is someone who is not afraid to give straight answers to straight questions. He has made a comment in relation to this issue.
“The party’s position on this issue is that John Delaney should be allowed go before the committee, take questions and answer them, and the issue will be taken from there. It is far too early to make that decision.”
However, Mr Rock last night said that he stood by his remarks.
“There are serious questions here for Mr Delaney to answer,” he said. “I’m surprised that the ministers are quicker to criticise me than Mr Delaney in this scenario.”
