No funding decision after disbandment

There was no indication yesterday that Government funding will be returned to swimming in the short term despite the decision made by the Irish Amateur Swimming Association (IASA) that a new organisation is to be formed.

Following a meeting in Malahide, Dublin, IASA officials agreed in principle to offer their resignations and form a new association. That, however, may take a number of months and may not even be in place until the end of the year.

The Minister for Sport and Tourism, Dr Jim McDaid, has stated on several occasions that he will not fund the association until it has his full confidence. Mr McDaid withdrew funding following the child abuse scandals surrounding disgraced former Olympic coaches Derry O'Rourke and George Gibney. Mary O'Malley, president of the IASA, said yesterday that a restructured IASA may not be in operation until much later this year and that she could not give a guarantee that the new body, IASA Ltd, would even be in place before the autumn, suggesting that it could be as late as December.

Before any funding is returned to the association, the Minister's office will have to approve the new body, its structures and constitution.

"We're not actually setting a date in the autumn for this change to take place. We haven't yet clarified what date it will be. What we want to do initially is get all the structures together and have everything properly in place. We don't want any mistakes made. If it takes a bit longer then so be it. But by the end of the day all positions will be vacated and a new election will then take place."

In recent weeks international swimmers have complained that their programmes, primarily geared towards the Sydney Olympicsin 2000, have been severely disrupted as a result of having no money and that they themselves have become innocent victims of the Government's actions.

A number of training trips abroad have had to be cancelled. Nick O'Hare, who this weekend won the 100 metres event in the National Championships in Belfast, said that he would consider retirement if the matter was not resolved before the end of the year. O'Hare swam for Ireland at in Atlanta and is one of our most experienced competitors.