The Equestrian Federation of Ireland stated last night that it will be advising the Irish Sports Council not to provide funding to the Show Jumping Association of Ireland for the year 2000, following the recent resignations of the SJAI's three-man finance and management committee after its discovery of irregularities at management level within the Association.

The EFI, the umbrella organisation governing all non-thoroughbred equestrian sports in Ireland, issued a three-paragraph press release last night after a five-hour meeting at the Federation headquarters in Dublin.

The Federation had requested SJAI chairman Ado Kenny to present a report at yesterday afternoon's meeting of the EFI executive, but although EFI secretary general Colonel Ned Campion had met with Kenny in the morning, he said that he would not be able to attend the executive meeting.

In the absence of Ado Kenny's report on the situation at the SJAI that has seen allegations of "serious and continuing irregularities", the EFI has now stated that it would "not be able to recommend the provision of 2000 funding by the Irish Sports Council to the SJAI" until a satisfactory explanation has been received about the recent resignations of the finance committee and the matters "apparently raised" in a report given by outgoing finance committee chairman Tom Meagher at an emergency meeting of the SJAI executive a fortnight ago.

Meagher and fellow committee member Dessie McFadden resigned from the finance committee immediately after the five-page report had been read out to the meeting two weeks ago.

The Federation's executive also agreed at yesterday's meeting that an immediate request be made to the SJAI for a copy of the finance committee report. The contents of this report and what the EFI has termed "a considered response" to it are to be discussed at a special EFI executive meeting on January 6th.

Sgt-Major Steve Hickey, who was at yesterday's meeting as the sole SJAI representative on the Federation executive, was quizzed by the nine other members of the EFI executive. He declined to comment, stating that he had not been briefed beforehand.

Controversy surrounding the SJAI's 1997 accounts, which showed an apparent deficit of around £200,000, resulted in the Irish Sports Council withholding its funding for show jumping last year. A grant of £61,000 was finally released two months ago following the announcement that the SJAI had returned a profit of £86,000 to the year ended October, 1999.

But the news that "continuing irregularities" involving sums of around £20,000 prompted the Irish Sports Council to request a detailed update on the situation.