Olympic tickets controversy has ‘tarnished’ Ireland, TD says

Controversy surrounding the alleged illegal sale of Olympic Games tickets earmarked for the Olympic Council of Ireland has tarnished the country's reputation, a Fianna Fáil TD has said.

Timmy Dooley said Minister for Sport Shane Ross should send a senior official from his department to Rio immediately to address the issue which he claimed had given a perception of corruption in Irish sport.

“The Minister needs to take an active role now. We have a backbencher saying the PAC should investigate, a Minister saying the IOC and Brazilian authorities should look into it and then a Junior Minister calling for the Joint Oireachtas Committee to investigate it,” he told RTÉ’s Today with Sean O’Rourke show.

Mr Dooley was speaking after Fine Gael TD called for the Olympic Council of Ireland to explain why it had not adopted international best practice codes when it comes to allocating tickets.

Mr Rock, a member of the Public Accounts Committee, told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that very serious questions needed to be answered and Mr Hickey should come before the Committee.

“There has been a vacuum of information,” he said.

A formal charge has been made against Irish man Kevin Mallon along with three other people for his involvement in an alleged illegal ticket selling scheme at the games.

Clarification

Mr Rock said Mr Ross would travel to Rio on Sunday to seek clarification and answers on the matter.

"We need answers here, if they are unsatisfactory or unclear then Pat Hickey needs to come before the Public Accounts Committee and answer a number of basic questions," he said.

“The Olympic Council of Ireland is not winning as many golds as we want on the field or in the ring, but we’re certainly winning them for kicking things to touch. The Minister needs to get answers quickly when he gets to Rio on Sunday.”

In a statement on Thursday, the OCI said its investigation into allegations of illegal ticket sales “is progressing”.

It has requested that the Rio 2016 Organising Committee pass on “all evidence and relevant information from the investigating Brazilian authorities to enable the OCI to advance our inquiries as quickly as possible”.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport and Sport Patrick O’Donovan, who has just returned from Rio, told Newstalk Breakfast that while it is important the Minister gets answers when he arrives in Rio, the matter is under investigation by Brazilian authorities.

He said he is anxious that questions be answered in a public forum, but says “the best way to do this is to allow the Brazilians do their work. Due process is important.

“The OCI is cooperating with the Brazilian authorities and believes that the person should be brought to justice.”

Mr Ross has said the Irish Olympians were being overshadowed by the ticket controversy. He also said he wanted to be “kept informed of the progress of the inquiries being made by the Olympic Council of Ireland into alleged illegal sales of tickets in Rio.