The head of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has apologised “unreservedly” for an issue that saw him receive payments above limits set in agreement with the Government in order to secure funding.
FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill received payments for expenses, and in lieu of holidays not taken, which brought his pay above limits set with the Government as part of the organisation’s 2020 bailout.
A recommendation set out in term 35 of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreement with the Irish Government sets out that the FAI chief executive’s remuneration should be “in line” with Government pay guidelines for a Secretary General.
The revelation resulted in funding to the FAI being suspended temporarily.
Appearing before the Oireachtas sport committee, Mr Hill said the FAI took “full, immediate corrective action, and the monies in question were returned by myself in full”.
“While we have made strong progress on governance reform, we recognise that those events have placed the spotlight on Irish football for all the wrong reasons and has evoked memories of the recent past which we know Irish football needs to move on from.
“I also regret that these events take the focus away from the phenomenal work being done across all levels of Irish football – from grassroots to our League of Ireland through to our international teams.”
He said that the Department of Tourism and Sport is “now fully satisfied that MOU 35 is embedded, and we welcome the decision of the Department and Sport Ireland to resume funding to the Association”.
Sport Ireland’s chief executive, Dr Una May, said it was “disappointed at the findings of the audit and the payments made to the FAI CEO”, and that the issue had “cast a shadow on the good work done over recent years”.
She said that since the audit, Sport Ireland has engaged with the FAI on the “corrective actions” taken by the organisation in response to the audit findings.
“This entire process gave rise to a delay in the release of funding to the FAI in 2023. However, funding to the FAI was resumed on the December 1 2023 following agreement from the ministers to do so, on the basis that the corrective actions have been satisfactorily addressed by the FAI.”
