Message from Cycling Ireland President

JMcL

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118594307#Comment_118594307

I've been through similar (goods/services for the public service), albeit smaller than the one in question. Sometimes you just can't get 3 quotes and that's the long and short of it. From my experience, so long as you've ticked all the boxes in the actual process, if you only get one or two quotes, then that's what you have to work with (note, I'm not talking about super targetted tenders here)

Casati

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118609890#Comment_118609890

Had a look but can't find anything- have you seen a grant application there for the Velodrome?

P2C

Had a read of some the articles. Hard to gather what grant they were applying for but because the Department of Sport were involved I am presuming it was sports capital grant and not part of their core funding from Sport Ireland. The matter is essentially fraud and someone should be held to account. If this was a lazy staff member they should be dealt with through the disciplinary procedure. If the grant was signed off by the CEO or board with there knowledge of false invoices they should step down. These organisations would have signed up to the governance code for community and voluntary organisations and should have the appropriate procedures in place. They are also managed by a professionally paid CEO so there is really no excuses. What concerns me most is they seem to be more interested in managing the communication fallout. Would love to get more detail. Have a good bit if experience in public sector procurement and governance of grants and where the process has really tightened over the years there will always be bad practice. I say this may trigger a few audits.

Mercian Pro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118611816#Comment_118611816

Set that one up nicely for you mb. Glad you were able to finish it off.

morana

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118613830#Comment_118613830

Just an FYI Ex CI director Senan Turnbull is member of the Governancecode.ie board and was when he served on CI board.

Morris Garren

Just noticed that El Presidente has again emailed the CI membership demanding the resignation of certain board members; he has also outlined a plan of action up to the forthcoming AGM. Sounds like a radical purge of some sort.

Frankly, like the vast majority out there, I don't know the full detail of the controversy and I'm not going to speculate any more. 'Mental Health' is being thrown about and warnings of dire consequences for the sport.

One can assume that discretion or the tactful handling of affairs is now off the agenda...

Chips Lovell

It's really kicking off now. Next AGM will be "interesting".

lennymc

Why is he looking for someone from Connaught Cycling for the board? Is it because other provinces have representatives?

magicbastarder

i know nothing of the internal politics of CI, but a president emailing members demanding board members resign sounds a little unhinged.

ednwireland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118622928#Comment_118622928

Thought the same myself , seems a little odd.

Grassey

https://www.cyclingireland.ie/news-item/message-to-the-members-of-cycling-ireland/

Gerry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118623221#Comment_118623221

it does.. I mean it is calling them out publically but for most people including myself who dont have context on who did what, why would there be any public pressure to back this up?

ednwireland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118624035#Comment_118624035

ive been to quite a few CI agms before the last 2 I don't know any of the names.

Large bottle small glass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118623221#Comment_118623221

If I was to publicly ask someone to stand down, I would explicitly state it was due to no wrong doing on their part but due to X,y &z.

Given how expensive defamation can be in Ireland, a Senior Counsel, someone from the corporate world and a man running his own accountancy practice(they all effectively trade on their names) could be a really bad place to start with looking for resignations.

Maybe it's a very well thought out strategy and I'm just not seeing it

MojoMaker

Could be a 'look the other way' strategy of course.

dahat

Rumour mill is full of stories about missing money & legacy members not wanting external eyes on the books.

Something serious is going behind the scenes & these things tend to lead back to money more often than not.

Morris Garren

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118626055#Comment_118626055

Good man Poirot, yer onto something 😀

lochdara

A response from the board

https://www.cyclingireland.ie/news-item/cycling-ireland-board-statement/

Cycling Ireland is aware of a written communication made by the President, on his own behalf, to the membership of Cycling Ireland on Saturday 12 February.  

This is an exciting and positive time for Cycling Ireland and for cycling in Ireland. There have been a number of exciting appointments made and initiatives taken by the Company. The President has played a key role in those developments.  

The Board shares the President’s expressed desire for a unified and cohesive Board of Directors which reflects the diversity of Cycling Ireland’s membership.  The best way to achieve that objective is for the Board to work together to rebuild relationships and address the issues facing the Company.  The Board is committing to making that happen. 

The Board is writing to the Department of Sport and Sport Ireland to advise them of the issues that appear to have given rise to the President’s communication.  In addition, the Board will engage with Sport Ireland in relation to the appointment of additional directors, as suggested by the President.  

The Board met this morning and resolved to convene an EGM of the Company. Proposals by certain clubs to convene an EGM would in any event have been considered at the scheduled Board meeting to be held on 21 February 2022.  

The EGM will afford an opportunity for the Board to inform the members of issues the Company is facing and the steps that are being taken to address them.  It will also give the members an opportunity to make their voices heard. The Board is acutely conscious that the members of the Company rightly feel that recent events do nothing to serve the interests of the sport of cycling.  

The Board is committed to ensuring the company functions effectively and operates in accordance with the Governance Code for Sport, and always in the best interests of its members and the sport.

lochdara

A few minutes after posting the reply to the president they promote dancing with the stars because of Nico. I asked them for help on promoting a cycling related fundraiser last year and they wouldn't.

rant over.

buffalo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625651#Comment_118625651

You may have missed this in the President's statement:

The request for the resignation of board members is in no way a reflection on anyone individually but is solely in the interests of Cycling Ireland. 

Large bottle small glass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118626805#Comment_118626805

I didn't.

That quote is much later in his statement when himself and all the other board members would resign prior to AGM.

It reads like he's keeping his friends sweet but gutting the other 3.

For clarity he should have been crystal clear when he signalled out the 3 members by name to resign that they had done nothing wrong.

ratracer

Whatever is going on, it’s an embarrassment the way this is being played out in public.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118626805#Comment_118626805

'i want you to leave your job, i'm not saying why, but i am saying me asking you to leave your job is no reflection on you'.

Weepsie

So he wants 2 brand new board members to go, and 1 guy whose been there a year. 1 he wants his basically their PR person, and the other is a barrister so would want to be careful what he's saying no?

You'd think he's made his own position a bit untenable and he can show himself the door while at it too.

CantGetNoSleep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118626899#Comment_118626899

Definitely, the whole board needs to go

fat bloke

Does he not say in the letter that he's resigning himself ahead of the November AGM?

What's that mean then, start over from scratch?

magicbastarder

was that statement issued by the president amended at any point since it was first put on the site? i hadn't copped the 'i fear for our mental health' comment first time round.

ednwireland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118627834#Comment_118627834

yeh but to be honest what's the point of him staying on now. resign stand down and call an egm. but I guess the people he wants gone (for whatever reason) might not go.

Chips Lovell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118627834#Comment_118627834

He suggested that he and the remaining board members all step down ahead of the next AGM but said it shouldn't preclude anyone running again. I read that as a.) an attempt to reassure members that this isn't a power grab and b.) a bid to gain a fresh mandate from members after taking the fairly radical action he was proposing.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118627884#Comment_118627884

It was certainly in the statement emailed to members.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118627834#Comment_118627834

is that standard practice at their AGM? i was at an AGM yesterday (completely unrelated to cycling) and the board stand down and symbolically leave their seats, before the incoming board is ratified (which is largely comprised of the outgoing board anyway)