Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Rollingnews.ie
State funding
Taoiseach: 'We won't ask the taxpayer to bail out the FAI'
Amid debts of around €62 million, the FAI recently asked government for a bailout of €18 million.
8.02am, 30 Dec 2019
37.4k
137
LAST UPDATE|30 Dec 2019
THE TAXPAYER WON’T be asked to “bail out” the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says.
Amid debts of around €62 million, the FAI recently asked Sports Minister Shane Ross for a government bailout of €18 million as they seek a refinancing package with their bank to secure their future.
This was denied, with Ross citing a finding by the forensic KOSI audit that the FAI is not fit to handle public funds.
The minister made it clear earlier this month that the government will not give the FAI any money at the moment, and Chair of the Oireachtas Sport Committee Fergus O’Dowd has said he believes a bailout from European football governing body Uefa is the FAI’s only way out of the present crisis.
The government has said it won’t block the FAI from selling its stake in the Aviva Stadium, however, the Taoiseach would not say if the State will buy it.
“This is something I am genuinely worried about at the moment,” said Varadkar.
“The grass roots clubs, the League of Ireland clubs, the school boys and school girls all the rest of it, I want to make sure that continues as normal and also our national male and female sides,” he said, adding:
Advertisement
“We want to make sure that we don’t see a situation whereby the association of football collapses in Ireland and if government has a role to play in ensuring that then government will play a role in ensuring that.”
However, the Taoiseach ruled out writing a blank cheque for the FAI:
We don’t want to be in a situation where we are somehow asking the taxpayer to bailout the FAI and take on their debts and liabilities and maybe their pensions too. We’re not going to do that.
He said the government was “going to try work out with them a plan that allows us to protect soccer and protect football in Ireland but in a way that avoids the taxpayer being asked to provide a blank cheque to pay for the mistakes of the past.
“That wouldn’t be the right way to go.”
Varadkar said he is “very happy” with the way that both Minister Ross and junior minister Brendan Griffin have dealt with the matter to date.
He said it is something the government is “going to be deeply engaged with because it is the most popular sport in the country and when the team is doing well in particular it unites the country and people of all backgrounds from all parts of the country”.
“We’re not going to allow football in Ireland to fail but we need to get it right because I don’t think the taxpayer would like us to take on the debts, liabilities and pension costs that aren’t theirs,” he concluded.
Sense of urgency
Speaking to reporters today, Communications Minister Richard Bruton also said there was a sense of urgency in resolving the challenges faced by the association.
Read Next
Related Reads
Shane Ross says government will 'look at' proposal to split FAI
Shane Ross: 'We don't trust the FAI, we don't trust them with the money... it's a basket case'
“I think Minister Shane Ross has been absolutely right, he does need to see a fresh start, he needs to see the independent directors, the fresh leadership,” he said.
“I’ve no doubt, as the minister himself said, he does not want to see examinership or liquidation as the way forward for the FAI, and hopefully there is a space now emerging where the minister can work with the organisation to develop the strategy that we all want to see.
“I don’t think anyone wants to see taxpayer’s money going into a black hole. It has to be done in a way we can stand over it, and any money given from the taxpayer is accountable in a transparent way.”
Concerns for the staff employed at the FAI have also been raised as, if the association was to be liquidated, it could see employees go unpaid next month.
“I am not going to comment on the timing of talks. I think there is a sense of urgency on all sides and that recognition is important,” Bruton said.
“Equally, there are preconditions that need to be met and we’re well on the way. I hope to see some of those met and we can see useful dialogue but I don’t want to comment on the timing or progress of those.”
With reporting from Conor McCrave
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
That’s brilliant, i watched her interview on The awards last night, it always amazes me how writers get the inspiration, hers was sitting in a car park in Cork. Well done!
congratulations. well deserved. . you dad very kindly gave me a copy of your book. . I have also being listening to it on radio. .onwards and upwards.
ann at ennis gourmet store.
'No-one wants to talk here': The silence surrounding the killing of Claire Collins
Niall O'Connor
58 mins ago
1.4k
The Morning Lead
Parents should ban children from using smartphones alone in their bedrom, minister says
Jane Matthews
1 hr ago
1.1k
12
trade war
China slaps extra 34% tariffs on US imports as Trump vows his 'policies will never change'
Updated
7 hrs ago
58.6k
174
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 161 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 110 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 143 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 113 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 134 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 74 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 46 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 92 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 99 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 72 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 53 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 88 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say