The Minister for Sport, Mr John O'Donoghue, has said Government funding for the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is "in doubt" over the body's failure to implement the Genesis report.
Relations between the FAI and the Minister have deteriorated over the FAI's failure to provide an assurance that it would, as the Minister had requested, advertise the post of chief executive and that of financial director before the end of the year.
The association offered Mr John Delaney the post of chief executive on an "interim" basis last night.
Mr O'Donoghue this morning echoed a statement by an official at his department last night who said there was "neither a need nor a desire for further engagement" with the association until a commitment to advertise the two posts during the coming weeks had been received.
The Minister said that considering the amount of public money given to the FAI, the very least the Government could expect at this stage was that the FAI would advertise the position of a financial controller.
The Government has given the FAI €70 million since 1997. He added that the Genesis report was almost two years old and that "very little of it has been implemented."
He said the report indicated the FAI was in need of fundamental reorganisation but that the Government "could not wait forever for this to take place".
Mr O'Donoghue warned that if the report was not implemented the sport would not have the kind of professional organisation it required.
He said the Government was involved with the FAI in very serious projects such as the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road and funding the eircom league, and that the Government needed to deal with an organisation that is "profesisional and streamlined".
Mr O'Donoghue said that as things stands, the Government was waiting on the FAI to advertise the two positions, as the Government had reasonably requested, but if it decided not to do so it [the FAI] could "paddle its own boat".
He said funding was in doubt for as long as the FAI "refuses to implement the Genesis report".
Mr O'Donoghue said Mr Delaney had stated on the public record that he wants the report implemented but that he "wondered why people were not mature enough to go off and implement the thing".