Minister Ross Must 'Get Out Of The Way' Of Sports Council Investigation

The Minister for Sport, Shane Ross, has been criticised for "getting in the way" of a full investigation into allegations of Olympics ticket fraud.

Labour Party Leader, Brendan Howlin, has criticised the Minister following the arrest of Pat Hickey, President of the Olympic Council of Ireland.

"At the start of this fiasco, Shane Ross went mysteriously quiet. Then his efforts to insert himself into the Olympic Council of Ireland's investigation were rebuffed. Following the arrest of Pat Hickey, he has been reduced to tweeting to let us know his state of shock," Deputy Howlin said.

"It has become abundantly clear that Shane Ross' only interest in this matter is in trying to keep his own hands clean. And it's equally clear that he has little understanding of the job he was appointed to do."

He continued: "The Olympic Council of Ireland is funded by the Sports Council. And under the Sports Council Act 1999, that body is empowered to request any information it wishes from bodies in receipt of funding, and may withhold funding if this information is not received."

Deputy Howlin said that while Pat Hickey is entitled to due process, Ireland's reputation has been damaged by the allegation and that "it is about time that Shane Ross got out of the way and tasked the Sports Council with taking ownership of this issue".

He concluded: "They should be immediately mandated to request all relevant information allowing them to carry out a full and independent investigation of this case, and to suspend all funding to OCI until this investigation is carried out.

"There will be opportunities in the future for Oireachtas committees or other forums to further examine the extraordinary events that have taken place in Rio. For now we need Minister Ross, who has achieved absolutely nothing to date on this matter, to get the Sports Council doing the job it was created to do."

Following his arrest in Rio, Pat Hickey has temporarily stood down from his role as Olympic Council President.

A statement released by the Council said: "Mr Hickey will of course continue to cooperate and assist with all ongoing enquiries."

The Council also confirmed that following his arrest, Mr Hickey was admitted to Samaritano Hospital for "investigation of chest pain". His condition is said to be stable and he will be observed for a further 24 hours.

(MH/JP)