The Pitch: Agency investigating John Delaney and FAI breaks silence
Former Chief Executive Officer of the FAI John Delaney in attendance during the 202' FAI Cup First Round match between St. Michaels and Waterford at Cooke Park in Tipperary. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
It’s five years since the Football Association of Ireland was reported to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) – since changed to the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) – on suspicion of financial discrepancies.
In that time the investigatory body has said very little publicly about the case, finding itself mired in court action and appeal over what materials belonging to former FAI chief executive John Delaney could and could not be examined or might be deemed privileged.
This week, in a lengthy written statement to The Pitch, the CEA has detailed those four years of legal wrangles which concluded in January when the Supreme Court refused leave to appeal an earlier ruling made by the High Court.
That High Court decision had determined that the ex-football chief had not ultimately substantiated his assertion of legal professional privilege in relation to certain documents and materials seized from the FAI by warrant.
The Agency confirmed that during the significant period of time that the matter was before the courts, it was unable to examine materials which formed part of its overall investigation.
The details revealed today by the CEA followed a series of questions submitted to the Authority by this column to determine where the case stands now, and how it will proceed – four months after the Supreme Court’s refusal.
We also asked the CEA about the scope and breadth of the investigation and what timelines, if any, have been put in place for the conclusion of the probe.
On an expected timeframe, the Authority stated: “The setting of time limits for the completion of criminal investigations would not be appropriate.”
The corporate enforcement arm of Government did however produce a timeline of actions to date, beginning almost a year after the ODCE began its investigation into the FAI.
“The CEA’s predecessor body commenced - in February 2020 - an action to determine whether legal professional privilege attached to certain documents that were seized under warrant,” it began.
“This was an action that it was obliged to commence under section 795 of the Companies Act 2014.
“The matter was listed regularly before the Court, with numerous court hearings and applications involving both the FAI and Mr. John Delaney as a Notice Party to the action.
“The matter ultimately came on for hearing in the High Court before Ms. Justice Reynolds in May 2022.
“The Court determined that Mr. Delaney had not ultimately substantiated his assertion of legal professional privilege.
“That judgment was subsequently appealed by the Notice Party to the action, Mr. Delaney. That appeal was heard in 2023 where the judgment of the High Court was upheld.
“Subsequently Mr. Delaney sought leave to appeal from the Supreme Court and, in a determination delivered in January 2024, they refused leave to appeal, thereby concluding this action.”
The CEA added: “During the currency of those proceedings, material seized was not capable of being examined by the CEA’s investigators.”
In a bid to compare and contrast the length of time this case has been active, we asked about the CEA investigation into INM (now Mediahuis) which began a year earlier, following allegations made to the ODCE by former chief executive Robert Pitt in 2018.
In that case the Director of Corporate Enforcement sought and was granted two inspectors to the company who will report back to the High Court “upon the completion of their work”.
“The Inspectors are independent in the performance of their functions,” it said.
“They do not report to the CEA - this independence in the performance of the Inspectors’ functions also means that the CEA has no role in the investigation and does not discharge any supervisory remit over the work of the Inspectors.”
It added that during “the currency of their Inspectorship, there have been a number of collateral legal actions relating to the so-called ‘INM 19’ (a group of employees who claim their data was breached) some of which have taken a period of time.
“Upon their report being delivered to the High Court, the CEA will receive a copy of that Report and will determine what CEA actions, if any, arise from it.”
It added that, just like the FAI investigation, there are no time limits on this investigation.
In relation to the FAI inquiry by the CEA, the statement concludes: “The CEA offers no further comment on this investigation in light of its confidentiality obligations, save to highlight that criminal investigations do not conclude with the publication of written reports and that the setting of time limits for the completion of criminal investigations would not be appropriate.”
It appears that, particularly in relation to the FAI investigation, the Authority is keen to highlight that such delays in its work are matters out of its control, a point made by the Director of Corporate Enforcement Ian Drennan back in 2021.
At the time Mr Drennan responded to criticism that the watchdog had been slow in its investigatory process, a point which he defended in the ODCE’s 2020 Annual report by declaring that the type of cases it investigates requires “patience and fortitude”.
Mr Drennan said that many of those being investigated are “prominent and well-resourced”.
“As is their right, they typically use every legal resource at their disposal in response to investigative efforts, with asserts of privilege and/or privacy increasingly becoming tools of attack as well as defence,” he said.
“Documentary records are in the cloud, communications are digital, vast swathes of information reside on smartphones and on other portable devices,” he said.
The CEA declined to comment when asked when it expected to have a full report written on its investigations into the FAI.
Margaret Miley has been formally approved as President of Basketball Ireland at the organisation’s 2024 AGM.
The annual getogether, which took place at the National Basketball Arena last weekend, saw Miley succeed PJ Reidy who served two successive terms, since 2020.
She becomes the 26th President of Basketball Ireland, having given over 40 years to club basketball in Dublin, and was also a member of the Dublin Ladies Basketball Board between 1983 and 2003 and the Dublin Men’s Basketball Board since 2003.
She currently runs the leagues for the Dublin Men’s Board, looking after six senior and 19 underage sections where she provides administration for up to 200 teams.
As well as being a long-standing member of Templeogue basketball club, Miley also has international experience, managing the Irish U19 women’s team between 1985 and 1990 and has also been a member of various international committees.
Speaking following her ratification, Margaret Miley said: “Basketball has always been a huge part of my life, so I want to continue to give back to the sport and support our players, coaches, officials and clubs in any way I can.”
Next Wednesday in New York the Irish Men’s Cricket team will take to the field against world number one side India at the T20 World Cup.
There will be significant interest here on the progress of the Irish side through its initial four group games in the USA-West Indies hosted tournament, Ireland will also play Pakistan, USA and Canada.
However, attention on the match back in India is expected to reach fever-pitch for a side and a tournament which is an obsession across the country.
In 2022, ahead of the last ICC T20, a YouGov poll found that almost 70 per cent of Indians where ‘somewhat interested’ or ‘this is one top interests’ when asked about the World Cup.
On that basis, with a population of 1.4 billion, Ireland can expect up to a billion sets of eyeballs on their opening match at the Nassau International Cricket Stadium in New York next week.
