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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Sport NI: Nine board members resign | Sport NI: Nine board members resign |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Nine members of the Sport NI board have resigned with immediate effect. | Nine members of the Sport NI board have resigned with immediate effect. |
| Sports Minister Carál Nί Chuilίn said they stood down just before she was due to meet board representatives. | |
| They were there to discuss a report by the Head of Internal Audit at the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and the Department of Education. | They were there to discuss a report by the Head of Internal Audit at the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and the Department of Education. |
| Ms Nί Chuilίn said she advised the remaining members at the meeting "of my deep concerns at the issues raised by their staff" with the internal auditor. | Ms Nί Chuilίn said she advised the remaining members at the meeting "of my deep concerns at the issues raised by their staff" with the internal auditor. |
| 'Ongoing challenges' | 'Ongoing challenges' |
| On Friday, the minister called for the meeting to consider the findings of the report into "serious allegations" about the "leadership, management and the overall culture" of the organisation. | On Friday, the minister called for the meeting to consider the findings of the report into "serious allegations" about the "leadership, management and the overall culture" of the organisation. |
| After Monday's meeting, she said she had accepted the board members' resignations, and thanked them "for their efforts in promoting and fostering sport during their time in office". | After Monday's meeting, she said she had accepted the board members' resignations, and thanked them "for their efforts in promoting and fostering sport during their time in office". |
| In a statement, she said: "Given the ongoing challenges in Sport NI, I am taking steps to intervene directly to support both staff and the remaining board members. | In a statement, she said: "Given the ongoing challenges in Sport NI, I am taking steps to intervene directly to support both staff and the remaining board members. |
| "I also wish to advise staff that their concerns are being taken seriously and that they will be fully addressed." | "I also wish to advise staff that their concerns are being taken seriously and that they will be fully addressed." |
| 'Unprecedented' | |
| Chair of the culture committee Nelson McCausland said the situation was "shocking and unprecedented". | |
| "That is why we need to get Carál Nί Chuilίn in front of the committee as soon as possible," he said. | |
| "It tells us something about the department and the way that the minister has been running the department," Mr McCausland told BBC NI's Good Morning Ulster. | |
| "We also want to talk to the people who resigned, they have a story as well. | |
| "It is a whole quagmire, we need to get to the bottom of it. The minister owes that to the public, to Sport NI and to the committee." | |
| Ms Nί Chuilίn said she would meet the remaining board members later this week. | |
| No-one from Sport NI was available for comment. | No-one from Sport NI was available for comment. |