The Athletics Association of Ireland has accepted an invitation to meet with the Minister for Sport, Jim McDaid, in an attempt to resolve the problems which are threatening the participation of Irish track and field athletes in the Olympic Games.

It emerged yesterday that McDaid wrote to both the AAI and the Olympic Council of Ireland on Thursday, inviting them to meet with him separately, in an attempt to head off a potentially damaging situation.

A spokesman for the Minister said that while the AAI had agreed to meet with him at the earliest opportunity, no response had as yet been received from the Olympic authorities.

This latest move is in line with McDaid's commitment to ensure that all the issues separating the two organisations are resolved within a time frame which will enable athletes to concentrate exclusively on their preparations for the Games at Sydney in September.

Speaking at last year's BLE Congress, McDaid urged members of the athletics organisation to compromise on the contentious clothing issue, a message which he later relayed to the Olympic Council.

Meanwhile, Pat Hickey, President of the OCI, has denied that the contracts which track and field athletes are refusing to sign infringe their marketing rights.

In a radio interview, he said that it was incorrect to suggest that athletes would have to sign away their marketing rights and that the clause in question would be operative only for the duration of the Games.

This statement, however, was quickly rejected by the AAI as misleading. They point out that clause 8.2.4 of a detailed contract agreement, binds athletes "not to appear or participate in any advertising promotion or marketing activities of any kind or nature whatsoever, for any person or body (whether actively or passively, corporate or unincomporate) other than the OCI or the OCI sponsors, without the prior written consent of the OCI which shall not be unreasonably withheld".

On the question of the timespan, clause 1.2 on the form to be signed by athletes, specifies: "This agreement will commence or be deemed to have commenced upon the date of my selection by the OCI for membership of the team and will remain in force until 31st December 2000".