A dispute has erupted between the Minister for Sport, Dr McDaid, and his predecessor, Mr Bernard Allen TD, as to who is responsible for getting the Ryder Cup Golf tournament to Ireland in 2005.
Dr McDaid yesterday denied that he sacked the committee seeking to get the competition for Ireland in order to "grab the glory". He also said that the former minister of state for sport, Mr Allen, had been "disingenuous" in accusing him of sacking the committee, which was established by Mr Allen and chaired by Mr Hugh McKeown.
Mr Allen said on Friday that the decision to award the competition to Ireland was made last June in Stuttgart. The announcement, he maintained, was to be made in Valderrama, Spain, at the weekend.
Dr McDaid fired the committee, Mr Allen said, in order to clear "all the serious players off the field so he could grab the glory."
Dr McDaid said in a statement yesterday that negotiations with the Professional Golfers Association had been carried out by Mr Enda Kenny, the minister for tourism in the last government, and Bord Failte, before Mr Allen decided to establish a committee. That committee, Dr McDaid said, never had an official negotiating position with the PGA.
The talks still had a long way to go when he arrived in office, Dr McDaid said, and the final decision was made only on Friday.