Pressure mounts on Olympic Council of Ireland over tickets

Olympic Council of Ireland president Pat Hickey is coming under increasing pressure to make a public statement on the ticket touting controversy overshadowing Ireland's Olympic ambitions.

Minister for Transport Shane Ross called on Mr Hickey to explain the circumstances that led up to the arrest of an Irish businessman. Mr Ross's comments follow requests from the Public Accounts Committee for the Olympics body to explain why tickets designated for the OCI are the subject of a police investigation in Brazil.

Chairman of the PAC Séan Fleming supported calls from Fine Gael TD Noel Rock who has called the OCI and its president to appear before the Dáil's most powerful committee.

Mr Fleming said the body received substantial funds from the taxpayer and any shortfall in their income was relevant to the PAC and the Irish taxpayer.

“I think it is something the PAC should consider when we meet again. This is something that is preoccupying people’s minds and obviously substantial funds are allocated to our Olympians.”

Scandal and embarrassment

Fine Gael TD Noel Rock said there were a series of questions to be answered by the body.

“This ongoing ticket scandal is an embarrassment, not just for the OCI but for the country in general. While we should be enjoying and talking about the events taking place on the track, in the pool, etc, we are discussing off-the-field antics and an Irishman arrested for selling OCI allocated tickets on the black market.”

The controversies have renewed calls for an independent investigation into the controversy.

The Minister for Transport said the Irish Olympians were being overshadowed by the arrest. Mr Ross also said he wanted to be “kept informed of the progress of the inquiries being made by the Olympic Council of Ireland into alleged illegal sales of tickets in Rio.

“We are going to leave it to the authorities to carry out their own inquiry in Rio – obviously there is a police inquiry.

“It is embarrassing. But let’s forget about it now for the time being and go full-speed ahead looking for medals next week.”

Mr Ross said he was “communicating with the Olympic Council of Ireland” and asking “to be kept in the loop” on the progress of their investigations into the alleged ticket sales.

“It is important the Olympic Council of Ireland be held as accountable as anybody else,” he said.

“If necessary, we will carry out an investigation of some sort.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe agreed the ongoing controversies in Rio were overshadowing the efforts of our sporting stars. He said the ticket-touting scandal is "not appropriate and does not reflect well on how we want our Olympians to be projected across the world".

Mr Donohoe said Mr Ross had put in place the right steps to deal with these issues.

Man arrested

The Olympic Council of Ireland earlier said it was investigating how an Irish man arrested in Brazil was allegedly selling Olympic Games tickets earmarked for the organisation.

Kevin Mallon was picked up at a hotel near the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, along with a translator, last Friday.

A spokesman for the Taoiseach said he fully supported the position of the Minister for Transport.