Minister Byrne to attend Respect Officials Working Group on Sport inaugural meeting
- Published on: 9 July 2024
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
Minister Byrne to attend Respect Officials Working Group on Sport inaugural meeting
The Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne TD, will today (9 July 2024) address the inaugural meeting of the Respect Officials Working Group.
The new Working Group is being set up on foot of an action listed in the Volunteering in Sport Policy, launched by Minister Byrne in January, and is being established in response to a number of unsavoury incidents involving officials. The Working Group will be chaired by Sport Ireland.
Minister Byrne will also use the opportunity to reinforce the necessity of having adequate safeguarding measures in place when he meets with the membership of the Working Group which is comprised of representatives from a wide range of sporting organisations in Irish sport (listed below).
Minister Byrne said:
“I am deeply conscious that many officials in Irish sport are volunteers who give up their own time, with little or no financial reward, for the sake of providing sport in their communities. That volunteering commitment must be valued and cherished. In January, I launched a new Volunteering in Sport Policy with Sport Ireland, which recognises the importance of volunteers in Ireland, and it is essential that we retain and increase the level of volunteering in sport. We cannot allow a lack of respect towards officials diminish sport and I am confident that the strongly representative, expert membership of the Respect Officials Working Group will make a decisive difference in this area.
“I look forward to discussing this matter with the membership of the Respect Officials Working Group at its inaugural meeting. I will also use the opportunity when I meet with the representatives of Irish sport to underline the absolute necessity of having adequate safeguarding measures in place within every sport. A key priority for me is to ensure that the guidelines, principles and expected behaviours outlined in the National Code of Conduct template for sporting bodies, which I launched last year, becomes a reality in sporting venues countrywide at every participation level.”
Editors’ Notes:
Membership
Louise Burke (Chair) Sport Ireland Director of Participation
Stuart Garland Volunteer Ireland Volunteers
Donal Smyth GAA Head of Referees
Triona Leahy Basketball Ireland Appeals, Safeguarding and PA to CEO
Michelle Carpenter Rowing Ireland CEO
Stephanie McGovern Active Disability Ireland Strategic Operations Manager
Isreal Ibeanu Cricket Ireland Safeguarding, Diversity & Inclusion Officer
Anne Marie Hughes IRFU IRFU Head of Equity Diversity and Inclusion
Ger McDermott FAI FAI Director of Grassroots Football
Gerard Perry FAI FAI Chairperson National Referees Committee
Dudley Philips IRFU IRFU Head of Referees
Stephen Gore IRFU Respect our Game
Mary O’Connor Federation of Irish Sport (FIS) FIS CEO
John Sweeney Clare Local Sports Partnership (LSP) LSP Network
Deborah Foley Carlow LSP LSP Network
Maggie Farrelly GAA Officials – Field
Philip Rooney Boxing Officials – Indoor
Sean Downes Canoeing Officials – Water
Hannah Gibney Triathlon Ireland Officials – Outdoor
Ciaran Ward Sport Ireland Coaches – HP
David Sweeney GAA Coaches – Community
Not available for 1st Meeting IRFU Coaches – National