Ministers Announce appointment of Amanda Bennett to conduct Rowing Ireland review

Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD, and Minister for State for Sport and Postal Policy, Charlie McConalogue TD, have today announced the appointment of Amanda Bennett to conduct an independent review into the organisational

culture of Rowing Ireland’s High-Performance Programme, its interactions in this space with Sport Ireland, and to provide recommendations as appropriate.

A former Welsh rugby international, Ms Bennett now operates as a consultant in sports governance and has worked across a range of organisations to strengthen governance structures, including the Football Association, the Irish Rugby Football Union and smaller voluntary sporting bodies.

Ms Bennett will be supported in conducting the review by Kathryn Ball, a high-performance consultant and former British rower who competed in the 1984 Olympic Games.

Speaking today Minister O’Donovan said:

I want to acknowledge the experiences shared by some athletes in the Rowing Ireland High-Performance Programme and commend their courage in coming forward. Amanda has significant experience in the sports sector as both an athlete and governance specialist, she is therefore ideally positioned to carry out this important work. During the process she will engage with current and former high-performance rowers to hear their experiences, views and ideas.

Minister of State McConalogue added:

Safeguarding of athletes at all levels of sport is a shared responsibility and there are lessons to be learned from the Rowing Ireland process. The review represents an opportunity to strengthen not just how Rowing Ireland responds to safeguarding issues in the future but to embed best practice in the Irish sports sector more broadly, including in the context of the next National Sports Policy which is currently in development.

The review process will commence in the coming weeks and is expected to be concluded by the end of the year.