And that’s that.
“There were a lot of issues in the run up to this. I hope we never have to have it again. It wasn’t good for the FAI, the manner in which you dealt with us.
“Outside of all that, we would expect to review this engagement and possibly ask you to come in again, either prior to Christmas or after Christmas. Just to make ye aware of that.”
Kelly is summing up now.
Senator Ní Chuilinn brought up the idea of other sporting organisations telling us how they deal with this area. I would suggest that Sport Ireland co-ordinate that.
Kelly: During this meeting, I got an email from one of my staff. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing from the FAI. I contacted RaiseAConcern and they passed me onto RSM and I was told my anonymity could not be guaranteed.”
Courell: We could offer to dicuss with you privately.
Kelly: Is there any correspondence or issue that the committee needs to be aware of or that we’re not aware of from January 2024 onwards?
Courell: It’s a broad question.
Kelly: It is, on purpose.
Alan Kelly: I have some questions and some final comments. In relation to the distinction between concerns and complaints. We seem to have the concern ebing in May 2023 and the complaint in January 2024. There is a concern that in the pre-January 2024 period, the association wasn’t robust enough and didn’t deal with the seriousness of the issue. This is something that we as a committee have to reflect on.
Peter Cleere: We’re talking about the welfare of people playing sport. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t concerned about safeguarding in the FAI in the past. Based upon what I’ve heard today, I still don’t have 100 per cent confidence that if there was a safeguarding issue now, it would be dealt with properly. I just don’t.
Tony Keohane: I’m disappointed you feel like that.
Sinead Gibney TD: We live in a patriarchal society. Snooker is my game – it’s £5,000 prizemoney for the women’s tournament and £500,000 for the men’s.
Alan Kelly: Sport??
Gibney: Excuse me?!
(The meeting is starting to wind down so the laughter that greets this small exchange is borderline hysterical)
Joanne Byrne TD: I want to make it clear that it’s not just women. It’s predominantly a male game and safeguarding is for everyone.
Courell: Thank you for introducing that very pertinent point. It’s fantastic to see that we’re at 55,000 registered female footballers. But it’s still quite a heavily male-dominated sport. It’s sad to see that some of the experiences raised with us through RaiseaConcern are of male players. We take these matters very seriously. We are encouraged that people view the association in the light that if they bring a complaint, it is taken seriously.
Malcolm Byrne TD: Our concern relates to if the correct approach was taken in 2023. I understand that with individual cases, that commentary can’t be made. If someone comes forward with historical allegations, was that taken seriously enough? Our worry, being blunt, is ‘Did the FAI fail those women?’
Should you have acted earlier? I am happy that it wouldn’t happen today. But 2023 isn’t that far back. I think you’re all good people. But I’m not convinced you haven’t failed those women.
Courell: I appreciate how Deputy Byrne has outlined the question. You alluded to the idea that we failed the women. I want to assure everybody that as soon as we had engagement wityh the PFAI, courtesy of their introduction of the women, our action was swift.
Senator Alison Comyn: I think we have had semantics today on the difference between concerns, complaints and allegations.
Pádraig O’Sullivan: There was a time-lag between complaint and action, which I think is inexcusable. And there is a refusal to answer questions, which I think is inexcusable. The thing that stands out most for me is that nine-10 month period between the initial allegation – if that turns out in the fulness of time to tally with what the complaint became, then people in this room have questions to answer.
Courell: You’ve made some pretty sweeping statements there which in the fullness of time we will be able to address. People have been coalescing aroudn the term ‘concern’. But it was not a concern at the time, it was a rumour.
Ní Chuilinn: It was more than a rumour. Ye wriote a press release and ye said, ‘It keeps us safe.’ It was more than a rumour and ye know it was.
Second round of questions now.
Senator Evanne Ní Chuilinn: As a comittee we should get the other sporting bodies in here and ask about sematics. The difference between conerns and complaints is a red herring. We are not talking about a few bags of footballs going missing. Why didn’t you start RaiseaConcern in 2023? If you really wanted to do the right thing.
Michael Murphy TD: What would you say to the 80,000 voluteers involved in grassroots football.
Courell: I don’t think it’s appropriate to say they’re questioning their love of the game. We couldn’t do it without them. I think that our volunteers see that we recognise them. They are genuinely a core aspect of everything that we do.
Mullen: Talk to me about this contradictory issue you have…
Courell: Again, it was about the questions you were asking of us. Of the 16 questions, 10 concerned a specific case. So the fact that you were asking them meant that we did not think this would be about safeguarding.
Senator Ronan Mullen: “You know that we know that you would have had to come together and get an answer for things. I don’t know why you can’t just tell us answers to these questions. The claim that legal advice prevents us from answering is sometimes the last refuge…”
Courell: “Thank you for appreciating our position. We would love to come in here and answer everything you are asking.”
Alan Kelly: “Were ye ever aware of concerns relating to the issue in the documentary proir to January 2024?”
Aoife Rafferty: “This is a really challenging situation. I’d love to be able to say go into detail. There were multiple different concerns that were brought. Some became a part of a Garda investigation. I don’t know which ones.”
Kelly: “This is not difficult. It’s a yes/no.”
Rafferty: “Genuinely, I know this is frustrating…”
Kelly: “I’ll move on.”
Pakes: “I wasn’t aware of any.”
Cooke: “I was not aware.”
Courell: “This is more nuanced than you’re asking. I think you’re alluding to media concerns but beyond that I had no knowledge.”
“Can you provide the committee with everything from 2024 that you feel in relation to this issue? Can you also provide a timeline that you will stand over in relation to these issues? Who was in what position from 2022 all the way up to today? Furthermore, all the costs relating to Project Magenta?”
Alan Kelly is asking his questions now. He brings up the concern/complaint dichotomy again. “None of ye are willing to talk about the conern. We have established that as part of this process.”
Cleere brings up allegations of a “toxic culture in the FAI”. Courell visibly bristles at this. “I appreciate deputy that you’re entitled to your own opinion. But the idea that by not answering questions here today it’s reflective of a toxic culture, I reject that. We are here today respecting due process and respecting the confidence of the individuals involved. It shouldn’t be taken as a signifier of a toxic culture.”
Cleere asks Paul Cooke if he has 100 per cent confident in his board and how they have dealt with this situation.
Cooke: Yes, absolutely.
Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere: “You said in your opening staement that no disrespect was meant. Well, disprespect was felt. What did you mean by all this ‘contradictory messaging’ stuff?
Kelly: I will interject here. As a committee, we completely reject your contention on that.
Courell mentions a back-and-forth between the committee and the association and says that when they kept asking for more detail about board meetings, they felt they had to turn down the invitation. Deputy Cleere is decidedly unimpressed.
Gibney asks about Siptu now and their concerns around voluntary redunancies. She asks at the end whether the job cuts will affect safeguarding.
Courell says they are in regular engagement with the unions. “I have continuously stated that we will speak to our staff first. But in the context of this session, there will be no impact on safeguarding.”
Gibney: If there’s an assault against an adult and that assault is witnessed, is there an obligation on the witness to come forward.
Pakes: The witness might go to the Gardaí but the Gardaí might not pursue it.
Gibney: Do you know how many people ahve come with concerns through RaiseaConcern and how many did before then?
Pakes: There have been 129 concerns through RaiseaConcern. Regarding safeguarding, we have had 109 people coming to us.
Courell: RaiseaConcern was introduced just over a year ago. Of the 129 conerns, 43 were outside the remit. That leaves 86 cases, of which 17 are closed and 16 are open.
Sinead Gibney TD (Soc Dems): I understand confidentiality concerns for the FAI when it comes to ongoing cases. But in your opening statement you talk about people not being unheard. And yet when we asked certain people to appear in front of this committee, their voices are unheard here.
Courell: I believe we are doing outstanding work on safeguarding. We are driving every day for greater standards.
Joanne Byrne TD (Sinn Féin): The uncertainty of the last few days and the coming and the going probably hasn’t covered ye in glory.
Byrne: Can you outline how many outstanding legal cases are there at present?
Courell: In terms of safeguarding, I don’t think there are any.
Byrne: How many stand-down order are in place?
Pakes: There are some in place but I can’t give any numbers. I would like to but I cannot.
Byrne is crystallising the core point the committee is chasing after here. “The dispute seems to be between the fact that a concern was raised in May 2023 and the complaint was made in January 2024. What’s the difference?”
Courell: “In generic terms, if someone came to me and said, ‘Something is happening’, I would want to give them a safe space to say it. But I would then tell them to engage in the process.”
Malcolm Byrne (FF) is asking about safeguarding now and the complaints that were made in 2024. He asks the Department of Sport and Sport Ireland when they were aware of the complaint.
The Department says April 2024. Sport Ireland says around the same time.
Carrigy: With regard to the national team, were you aware of these issues? (He’s talking about the stuff in Eileen Gleeson’s case)
Courell: I will try my best to answer that, within the limitations. We have not had an opportunity to mount our defence but it will be reboust. It will be right and proper for us to make a comprehensive defence…
He goes on to filibuster then and Carrigy moves on.
Michael Carrigy (FG): This is like American TV, with people pleading the fifth to get out of answering questions.
Carrigy: We have corresondence from Eileaan Gleeson where she expresses a desire to come in here. Why would you not want somebody who this committee asked to come in?
Keohane: We thought it would be completely inappropriate for somebody who is taking a case against the organisation to come in here and speak publicly.
Senator Alison Coymn is up now. She is asking about various timing matters, including asking Courell when the FAI first knew about the allegations. Courell said after the documentary came out that it was January 2024.
She is asking him if he stands over that statement and he is saying he does.
Comyn: “Can you withdraw that statement, given that it is public knowledge that you were part of an email chain in 2023?”
Courell: “No, a formal complaint was only made in 2024. Anything before that was not a complaint.”
O’Sullivan: Paul Cooke, you are the president of the FAI. When was the board aware of the allegations?
Cooke: Apologies again but we are not prepared to answer questions on specifics.
Kelly: Sorry now, this is extraordinary. You can answer basic questions like this.
Cooke seems quite sheepish now at being taken to task and allows that they heard about it in January or Fenruary 2024.
O’Sullivan: In the event of an allegation of this type (sexual), would a stand-down notice be given? Would it be immediate?
Kelly: This is a generic quesiton now. You can answer it.
David Courell: I know it will be frustrating for you as it is for me, but we can’t answer these questions.
O’Sullivan: This reminds me of another chief executive who came in here and responded to the committee in this manner and it did not end very well for him.
Courell: Genuinely, we mean no disresepct. But we are simply not prepared to endanger a Garda investigation. We must remember these are real people.
Pádraig O’Sullivan (FF): “I’d like to start by reading from an FAI statement the day after the documentary.”
Alan Kelly: “I’m sure ye won’t mind answering questions on your own statement.”
Aoife Rafferty: “I think we have made an environment where people can come forward.”
Tony Keohane, FAI Chairman, interjects to say that the FAI’s priority is not to endanger the course of justice but Kelly isn’t having it. He says that these committees are well used to dealing with issues even when there are court cases pending and that they are entitled to expect some questions to be answered.
Ní Chuilinn: “Would you like to put on record whether you knew about the allegations before the documentary?”
Aoife Rafferty: “No. I would like to but due to legal advice, I cannot.”
Ní Chuilinn moves onto Aoife Rafferty, People and Culture director and asks did she orchestrate a PR response to the documentary. She evades the question as well, moving Alan Kelly to ask for a pause.
“Is this the sort of answer we’re going to get from everybody?” asks Ní Chuilinn.
Ní Chuilinn asks Kirsten Pakes, Child Welfare & Safeguarding Officer of the FAI when she found out about the allegations that came to light in the RTE documentary. Pakes prevaricates over her answer, drawing the ire of Ní Chuilinn and Alan Kelly.
This is a bad starts for the FAI.
Onto the question and answer session. First up, Senator Evanne Ní Chuileann…
“For transparency, I was contacted by Eileen Gleeson. I advised that she come in front of the committee and it is a pity she is not here.”
David Courell is up next…
I appreciate the Committee has also requested the presence of Eileen Gleeson and Gareth Maher. Neither of these individuals have a direct role in safeguarding, and the FAI is fully satisfied that the five representatives here today are appropriate witnesses to address the Committee on matters of safeguarding policy, governance and oversight, and that they can represent the Association in full.
res.
The Committee is aware from our recent correspondence that on foot of guidance from An Garda Síochána and separate legal advice, we have been unable to share certain
materials sought, and that we are obliged to avoid discussing the specifics of any case. Just to outline that even discussing correspondence without naming individuals can impact a case, especially when that same correspondence has been detailed in media, which has named the individuals involved and has pinpointed it as relating to them.
I’d also like to acknowledge the uncertainty over our appearance here today and would like to reassure the Committee that no disrespect was intended. It was borne out of a genuine concern that the Association has had regarding some of the contradictory messaging we have received about the scope of this hearing.
I believe that nobody here today would want to undermine these investigations and the rights of the individuals involved, and so we hope to proceed today with care and to remain within the stated scope of today’s agenda.
When concerns were raised following the ‘Girls in Green’ documentary last year, we noted that the robust policies and reporting structures that we now have in place, were not in place to protect the individuals affected in that documentary back in the 1990s. The courage of the individuals involved who came forward underscores why this work matters.
The FAI also made three clear statements:
• Nobody should ever feel unsafe in Irish football.
• Nobody should have felt unsafe in the past.
• And nobody should feel unheard.
Opening statements now from The Department of Sport, Sport Ireland and the FAI.
Some selected highlights…
Cian Ó Lionáin, Assistant Secretary for Sport, Culture, Communications and Sport
The allegations made by women involved in football in the 1990s were truly shocking and the bravery of those who came forward to tell their stories is commendable. It is vital that allegations of this nature are taken seriously and dealt with in the appropriate manner. Last year’s reporting of this story, both in print and on television, played an important role in bringing those stories to light.
Great strides have been made in increasing female participation in Irish sport in recent years, which now stands at 47%, its highest level ever. The continued investment by the Department in Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport Programme – €4 million in 2025 – funds projects and initiatives across a wide range of sports, supporting the Government’s vision where women have an equal opportunity to achieve their full potential in sport.
These measures, while positive, must of course be supported by a robust safeguarding framework for all who participate in sport. It is imperative that we demonstrate that there is simply no place for abuse of any kind in sport and there should be zero tolerance for any actions that endanger welfare.
That’s a very clear and succinct broadside from the committee chairman against the FAI. They are not at all happy with the FAI messing them about in advance of the meeting. It will be interesting to see what Courell’s response will be.
Alan Kelly begins by taking a swing at the FAI for prevaricating over coming in front of the committee.
“I’m in the Oireachtas 20 years and I never saw this before. That anyone would question this committee’s reasons for calling a meeting is troubling…
“The agenda for this committee meeting hasn’t changed…
“It is concerning that the FAI, while it reconsidered its reason for attending, has left out people who we have asked to attend. This is very unusual. If a committee asks for certain people to attend, they generally do attend…
“I have no doubt that as a result of this, there will be further meetings scheduled. And almost certainly before the year is out…
“For transparency, the FAI president contacted me during the week looking to speak privately. I told him I would be making it public.”
The Committee meeting has begun but the first 15 minutes are in private. The public part of it will start at 12.30.
Committee Chariman Alan Kelly TD (Labour):
“We welcome the opportunity to discuss matters relating to safeguarding policies and procedures within the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).
“It is important to note that certain matters relating to safeguarding in football are the subject of an active investigation by An Garda Síochána.”
“The allegations made by women involved in football in the 1990s were shocking and the bravery of those who came forward to tell their stories is commendable.”
“Cases such as these serve as a reminder of the need to be ever vigilant and of the importance of Safeguarding Policies and Procedures in our efforts to create, protect and promote a culture that allows people to speak out about anything that makes them uncomfortable, in all sports.”
Just for the completists out there, here are the runners and riders for today’s session.
– Mr. Cian Ó Lionáin, Assistant Secretary for Sport, Culture, Communications and Sport
– Mr. Ciarán Shanley, Principal Officer Sports Policy, Culture, Communications and Sport
– Dr. Úna May, CEO, Sport Ireland
– Ms Helen McHugh, Director of Ethics and Integrity at Sport, Sport Ireland
– Mr. Tony Keohane, Chair, Football Association of Ireland
– Mr. Paul Cooke, President, Football Association of Ireland
– Mr. David Courell, Chief Executive Officer, Football Association of Ireland
– Ms Aoife Rafferty, People & Culture Director, Football Association of Ireland
– Ms Kirsten Pakes, Child Welfare & Safeguarding Officer, Football Association of Ireland
The FAI always seem to come to these things on the back foot for whatever reason. It seems especially odd for them to be all up in a heap this time around, given that this is supposed to be yet another new dawn. How they face down the politicians’ questions will be fascinating to watch today. David Courell, the FAI’s CEO, is a very polished performer.
Here’s a piece on how he handled an ask-me-anything media briefing a few weeks ago:
David Courell is well able to sit through an hour of questions. But what use is that when everyone already knows the FAI is such a dire mess? Today’s column. https://t.co/nJzAb6Wrbs
— Malachy Clerkin (@MalachyClerkin) September 13, 2025
Today’s Oireachtas appearance comes as Eileen Gleeson says FAI told her not to attend, reports our soccer correspondent Gavin Cummiskey:
Eileen Gleeson has said that a “directive” from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) told her that it would be “wholly inappropriate” to attend Wednesday’s hearing of the joint Oireachtas committee on sport.
The former Republic of Ireland head coach, who is currently taking legal action against the association, had “repeatedly expressed a desire to attend” the hearing as an FAI employee or in a personal capacity, she informed the committee on Monday afternoon.
However, Gleeson says she received a “directive” from the FAI people and culture director explaining that it would be “wholly inappropriate for you [Gleeson] to attend the committee in any capacity in circumstances where the FAI will not be in attendance”.
The FAI chief executive David Courell confirmed recently that a “very robust” defence was being prepared by the association against legal action being taken by Gleeson on the grounds of gender discrimination. Despite the legal case being taken against her employer, Gleeson was recently named as the association’s head of football strategic insights and planning.
[ Eileen Gleeson says FAI told her not to attend Oireachtas hearingOpens in new window ]
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has decided it will attend Wednesday’s meeting of the Joint-Oireachtas committee on sport in Leinster House after all, having previously said they would not take part.
The move follows criticism of the FAI from Minister of Sport Patrick O’Donovan, who said a situation cannot arise where the Government is funding a sporting body that will not engage with the Oireachtas.
After a meeting of the board on Tuesday, the FAI has reconsidered its position regarding attendance at the hearing.
Wednesday’s hearing is due to explore issues around safeguarding in Irish football.
We should be getting underway around 12.15.