Articles of new body are disputed

Further disquiet has surfaced over Sunday's Irish Amateur Swimming Association's (IASA) a.g.m. in Dublin. Having studied the nominations and the proposed articles of the new association, Swim Ireland, a number of people, including the body representing parents and victims of jailed Olympic coach Derry O'Rourke, claim that articles of the new association are not in compliance with the Murphy Report.

The Murphy Report was commissioned last year by the Minister for Sport and Tourism, Dr Jim McDaid, to investigate child sex abuse in swimming. Dr Roderick Murphy SC conducted the inquiry and published a number of wide ranging recommendations.

A number of coaches have been nominated for positions in the proposed new body, Swim Ireland, which appears to be contrary to Murphy, who recommended that coaches should not occupy other positions in the association. Furthermore, there are no provisions for a Child Protection Officer or a Child Liaison Officer while the procedure involving complaints made by children is seen as unnecessarily complex.

"The way it is structured now, a child, who might be as young as seven or eight years old, has to go through four steps before his or her complaint gets to the Gardai or Eastern Health Board," said a victim of O'Rourke.

"They would have to go to a committee member, a Child Liaison Officer and then another committee member. Imagine a child having to do that. We all found it difficult enough to tell our parents and that was years later. For a child to say it to that many adults is madness. I don't think it can happen," she said.

The Murphy Report states that "there should be a clear and simple complaints procedure."

He also recommends that: "Past presidents and honorary life members should have a consultative role, not an executive role."

In a clear contravention of Murphy's recommendations the current nomination list contains this year's president Mary O'Malley as one of two nominations for the position of Honorary Treasurer.

Murphy also states that: "A professional coach should not be a delegate to a branch or association." In the current nomination list as many as 25 people are coaches in one form or another. Some, though not all, could be considered professional.

"One would expect that any new structure or association in Irish swimming would be in keeping with the spirit of the Murphy Report," said an spokesman for the Department of Tourism and Sport.

In addition Dr McDaid issued a press statement yesterday addressing the provision of a £30,000 to the IASA.

"As the IASA did not have sufficient resources to complete the restructuring process, they sought funding in respect of the following: professional and administrative costs, support for the clubs towards their reaffiliation costs and equipment," says the statement.

"It is ironic that, after providing the Irish Amateur Swimming Association with £30,000 in a final attempt to see if the affairs of swimming could be put in order, I am now being criticised by some elite swimmers who would be among the primary beneficiaries in the event of funding being restored. I urge everyone in swimming to attend to the affairs of their sport in order to ensure its future."