Jul 28, 2016
CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport James Galvin has described Gary Keegan’s resignation as a “huge loss” to Irish sport, while also wishing him all the best in his new business venture.
Sport Ireland announced today that Keegan will be stepping down as the Director of the Irish Institute of Sport in September to take up a new business venture after eight years in the role.
Speaking about the news, Galvin said: “Gary Keegan’s vision in developing high performance sport has been a revolutionary development that has really put Irish sport on the map.
“His commitment and passion in his pursuit of developing the Irish Institute of Sport was outstanding. The facility is now a state-of-the-art, national sporting asset, and it has significantly enhanced our reputation internationally. Indeed, the Irish Institute of Sport is now a world leader for producing high performing athletes and coaches, and this is largely due to Gary’s hard work.
“There is no doubt that Gary Keegan will be a huge loss to Irish sport. Nonetheless, I would like to wish him the best of luck in his new business venture.”
During his tenure, Keegan established the Irish Institute of Sport as one of the world leaders in the preparation and development of not just high performance athletes, but also high performance coaches.
The Institute has grown to become a significant catalyst in driving the evolution of high performance sport in Ireland and now supports 20 sports and over 250 athletes.
Jul 27, 2016
The Manager of the Dublin City Sport & Wellbeing Partnership, Shauna McIntyre, has been selected as the latest addition to the Federation of Irish Sport’s Board of Directors. Her election was ratified at the Federation’s Annual General Meeting, which took place at Irish Sport HQ on Wednesday, 27th July.
Shauna will replace Aideen O’Connor as the Member Category 5 repressentative on the Federation’s Board of Directors. Aideen informed the Board of her decision to resign from the Board earlier this month, so we would like to take this opportunity to thank Aideen for her outstanding commitment and contribution to the Federation over the past two years.
Shauna joined the Dublin City Sport & Wellbeing Partnership in April 2015. Prior to taking up her current role, Shauna held various other positions of general management in the sport and health sectors, including management positions in both a health centre and three sport/fitness centres.
Shauna has a passion for sport and physical activity, and during her career she has witnessed first-hand the many economic, health and social benefits it can offer to society. In her role as Manager of the Dublin City Sport & Wellbeing Partnership, Shauna is determined to lead her team in building and expanding upon the very positive work already being carried out in the promotion of sport in Ireland.
She believes that strategic partnerships, continued investment, engaging with the local communities and participation levels are vital elements in the continued growth of sport in Ireland.
Jul 27, 2016
The Federation of Irish Sport’s Activities Report 2015-2016 was released today (Wednesday, 27th July) at the company’s Annual General Meeting.
The report provides a detailed account of the Federation’s activities over the past 12 months since last year’s AGM.
To view the report, click here: FIS Activities Report 2016
Jul 19, 2016
The Federation of Irish Sport is delighted to welcome LawOnline on board as our newest Preferred Supplier.
LawOnline is a new legal service for individuals and businesses. In brief, it allows individuals and businesses to draft highly bespoke legal documents online across a broad range of areas such as Employment, Debt Recovery, Company Formation, Commercial Leases, Powers of Attorney, Wills etc. at a very competitive cost. You can also have your document reviewed by LawOnline’s solicitors if you wish at a small extra cost.
LawOnline’s technology is similar to that in use internally in many major global law firms, and LawOnline is now making this available to Irish businesses and individuals.
But what benefit is this to Irish sport?
LawOnline’s Wills service specifically enables the making of legacy gifts to amateur Irish sports clubs.
A gift or an inheritance made to an amateur Irish sports club is exempt from tax in the hands of the club to the extent that the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that it has been, or will be, applied to purposes which are either ‘public’ or ‘charitable’.
LawOnline enables you to either draft your Will or – if you already have made a Will – to amend it. Their drafting processes also specifically cater for individuals who wish to make a legacy gift to an amateur Irish sports club.
Find out more about LawOnline’s unique service by clicking here.
Jul 13, 2016
Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Patrick O’Donovan TD today (Wednesday, 13th July) announced an investment package of €7.4 million from Sport Ireland to support grass roots development in rugby, football and Gaelic games.
The announcement follows the €19.1m investment in National Governing Bodies of Sport, €1.8m in direct athlete investment and €5.4m to support the national network of Local Sports Partnerships.
Announcing the package, Minister O’Donovan said: “I’m delighted to announce this significant investment in sport for young people. It is important that opportunities exist for young people to participate and today’s investment will support the FAI, the GAA and the IRFU in continuing their extensive participation programmes aimed at encouraging and creating more opportunities for young people to participate in field sports. This investment represents a significant contribution to our communities and to the health and well-being of our young people.”
Today’s announcement will see €2.4 million invested in the GAA, €2.7 million in the FAI and €2.36 million in the IRFU, which will support coach development, club support, under-age programmes, volunteer support programmes, community schemes, referee development and targeting at-risk communities.
Kieran Mulvey, Chairperson of Sport Ireland explained: “We are delighted to announce this investment today. This investment supports Sport Ireland’s strategic aim of increasing participation in sport throughout Ireland. These field sports are based on a shared ethos of developing the grass roots of the games, growing participation numbers and targeting communities outside of the traditional base of the sport.”
Speaking at the announcement at the National Sports Campus, CEO of Sport Ireland John Treacy highlighted the importance of this investment: “Sport Ireland shares a common goal with the GAA, IRFU and FAI to increase participation in sport and physical activity. Today’s investment highlights Sport Ireland’s strategic aim of increasing participation from every age group and from all social backgrounds throughout Ireland, removing barriers that prevent participation in sport.”
Jul 11, 2016
Officers and directors owe a fiduciary duty to the not-for-profit company. Simply stated, this means that directors and officers of the company must act in the best interests of the company at all times.
Under the Companies Act 2014, the director’s fiduciary duties have been codified for the first time. The eight fiduciary duties of a director owed to the company, as listed in the Act, are:
- Act in good faith and in the best interests of the company as a whole
- Act honestly and responsibly in relation to the company’s affairs
- Act in accordance with the company’s constitution & exercise powers only for lawful purposes
- Not to use company’s property for their own or others personal gain unless approved by company’s members or agreed in constitution
- Not to fetter discretion unless permitted by the Company’s constitution or entered into in the Company’s interests
- To avoid conflict
- To exercise due care, skill and diligence
- To have regard to the interest of all the company’ members
A conflict of interests arises whenever an officer or director places a competing interest over the best interests of the not-for-profit organisation. Competing interests are usually business, personal, financial or family related.
What could have been done to avoid a conflict of interest?
- Require directors and officers to sign a conflict of interest policy each year requiring them to disclose conflicts of interest; and
- Exclude the officers or director with the conflict from all decision-making processes involving the conflict.
Conflict of interest policies should be included in the Company’s Corporate Governance policy document, but conflict of interest policies are more effective if the company requires all its officers, directors, and employees to review and sign a new conflict of interest policy each year. The conflict of interest policy should provide a concrete definition of what conduct creates a conflict of interest, thus enabling the directors, officers and staff to identify potential conflicted situations. The policy should require the conflicted officer or director to fully disclose all facts regarding the conflict to the board. Finally, the policy should provide a procedure for minimizing or eliminating the conflict of interest. This is usually done by excluding the directors or officers from the decision-making process that involves the conflict.
Full disclosure and the exclusion of the conflicted director or officer from the decision-making process puts the interests of the company first and foremost and will prevent a conflict of interest arising.
OSK is the official audit and accounting partner of the Federation of Irish Sport, and the preferred supplier of these services to the Federation’s members. Contact Director of OSK, Deirdre McDermott, for further details on the fiduciary duties of officers and directors of not-for-profit companies.
