Sports minister open to 'constructive suggestions' over possible FAI split

Additional reporting by Vivienne Clarke

The Sports Minister says he is willing to talk to those behind a proposal suggesting splitting the FAI to secure Government funding.

The plan would see the FAI's main focus on managing the international teams and elite side of the sport.

Shane Ross said he is open to talk about "constructive suggestions".

"The FAI is a complete and utter basketcase, it's in a very, very dark place at the moment", he said.

“If we've got people like Brian Kerr and Niall Quinn who are going to make suggestions, I would be very happy to talk to them about it."

State backing would be sought for a new body that would solely look after the grassroots, community and development side.

He said: "The Government's interest is to protect the funding - the €2.9 million which we give to the FAI every year.

"Money for the grassroots should not go to the FAI, but should go to the grassroots - the grassroots must not be allowed to suffer from what's gone wrong at the FAI.

“We are devising a mechanism - which I hope will be ready next week - whereby we can channel that money to grassroots football without any interruption: that's absolutely imperative for us, because we're interested in football... we're not interested in the FAI."

He added: "The Government can't believe the association which runs Irish football has sunk to such an awful low.

"What we cannot believe - and I cannot understand, and I think is quite unforgivable - is that the independent directors who were promised to us for so long have still not been appointed by the FAI.

"We've got to see an organisation which is independent of what's happened in the past - that's terribly important."

However, Mr Ross defended the "really good people" working within the organisation itself and wants the FAI to move forward.

"I don't want to insinuate that everybody in the FAI has been bad, there are some really good people in there, and there have been some really good people in there," he said.

"But I do want to see it patently clear to the public and to ourselves as Government that those who are taking over now are not affected by the sins of the past."