Manner of Delaney’s departure 'leaves a lot to be desired', says former FAI head

Update: The former CEO of the FAI Fran Rooney has called on the association to reveal exactly how much John Delaney received in compensation over the past 14 years.

Details of how much Delaney was paid by way of salary, pension contributions, use of credit cards, benefit-in-kind and parachute payments all must be disclosed, Mr Rooney told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

"There needs to be full disclosure of all payments if the FAI is to regain public confidence. The amount could be between €5m and €7m," he said.

The manner in which Delaney’s departure was revealed late on Saturday night and the lack of transparency about the financial package “smacks of the old FAI”, he added.

Mr Rooney dismissed suggestions that the deal was subject to employer/employee confidentiality, pointing out that the FAI is a public company “using tax payers’ money, relying on government funding. Full transparency is needed here.”

While he welcomed Delaney’s departure, the manner in which it was conducted “leaves a lot to be desired.”

Mr Rooney said he agreed with the Minister for Sport, Shane Ross, that a completely new board is required for the FAI.

"The new board members chosen at a recent EGM were long time FAI members and did not constitute a new regime.

“A new regime is needed to bring the organisation forward. Good governance is what this is about and the FAI fell at the first hurdle.”

Earlier: FAI needs to disclose details of Delaney pay-out, says Fergus O’Dowd

The chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport, Fergus O’Dowd has called on the FAI to disclose details of the pay-out to former head, John Delaney.

It comes after Mr Delaney stepped down as Executive Vice-President of the FAI. The former CEO's resignation was announced late on Saturday night after talks between Mr Delaney and the board.

"Public funds need to be used properly and it was not good enough that details were being kept secret," Mr O’Dowd told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

He said he wanted the details of the ‘secret deal’ to be known “before Santa Claus”.

“We need to know if Santa Claus came to John Delaney.”

"There needs to be total credibility about any payments," he added. "The FAI needs to disclose the pay-out."

The timing of the payment was also wrong, he said as a forensic audit of the association has not yet been published.

Once the forensic audit is published on October 7 the Oireachtas committee “will go through it in fine detail. We need to move it on and the money to go back to young people.”

Mr O’Dowd said he did not know about the settlement to Mr Delaney and was concerned about the way it was announced.

John Delaney.

He said: "The appropriate time would have been after the forensic audit was completed. To do anything before then was premature."

He added that the Oireachtas committee will continue to hold the FAI accountable. “This is bigger than any individual. It’s about all of those people who follow soccer,” he said.

"The public needs to be assured of the corporate governance of the FAI. Until we see the audit we won’t know what has to happen.”