AMANDA BENNETT HAS been appointed to conduct an independent review into the organisational culture of Rowing Ireland’s high-performance programme.

The review comes on the back of a series of articles published by the Sunday Independent last year, in which several athletes alleged a toxic culture within Rowing Ireland’s high performance programme.

A former Welsh rugby international, Bennett previously worked on an independent review with the Irish Rugby Football Union, based around the Ireland women’s team failure to qualify for the 2021 World Cup. Bennett has also worked to strengthen governance structures with England’s Football Association, and smaller voluntary sporting bodies.

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. 

A government statement outlined “the review process will commence in the coming weeks and is expected to be concluded by the end of the year.”

Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick 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 for State for Sport and Postal Policy, Charlie 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.”