Treacy's role in council to change next year

John Treacy will not seek re-appointment as chairman of the Irish Sports Council when the Bill to establish the council on a statutory basis becomes law early in the new year.

Under the terms of the proposed legislation, which had its second reading in the Dail this week, the positions of chief executive and chairman, which Treacy currently fills, will be separated. Treacy is expected to retain the post of chief executive which carries a basic salary of £45,000.

Since his appointment to head up the council, established by the Rainbow Coalition government to replace the old Cospoir body, the former Olympic silver medallist has been one of the most influential personalities in the administration of Irish sport.

Those powers will now be significantly diluted in the revised structure, vesting the appointment of his successor as chairman with unusual urgency in the coming weeks.

Among those being canvassed for the job is Tony Hanahoe, a former Dublin footballer, who sits on the Dublin International Sports Council (DISC). Hanahoe, a solicitor, has recently been co-opted on to the Irish Sports Council's stadiums' sub-committee.

Dr Tony O'Neill, regarded by many as the finest legislator to emerge in Irish sport in modern years, is another possible choice, although it is still not clear if the director of sport at UCD is interested in the position.

Eamonn Doherty, a former chairman of Cospoir, currently sits on another of the council's sub-committees. Ron Delany was Doherty's predecessor in Cospoir and his name may be added to those of Noel Murphy, the president of the IRFU, and Jonathan Irwin, the chief executive of DISC.

Gender equality will be a feature of the new slimmed-down council, to be announced shortly by the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr Jim McDaid. From a situation in which 26 members once sat on Cospoir, the statutory body will now comprise a chairperson and eight members.

Likely candidates for the four seats for women include Geraldine Barniville and Mary Davis and the Minister will also be under pressure to preserve the cross-border element in the composition of the outgoing council.

Reaction to the Bill, outlined by Dr McDaid on Tuesday, has been mixed. There is broad approval for the formation of a statutory body, but the extent and the manner of the funding is unclear.

There is no specific mention of the provision of National Lottery money for sport, an omission which is perceived as potentially serious. Neither is there a reporting system contained in the document, suggesting that major spending will continue to be the responsibility of the Minister.

Unlike the policy favoured by the previous administration, a distinction is drawn between elite and recreational sport and in this, I believe, there will be general approval.

Describing the Bill as minimalist, Fine Gael's spokesman on sport, Bernard Allen, called on Dr McDaid to provide some pertinent answers.

"We would like the know the kind of money which will be made available to the council and how it will be funded," he said.