A year after it emerged Cycling Ireland had incurred very large increases in spending on professional fees and lawyers in 2021, new information shows its spending in the same areas was high again last year. The new information is emerging a day before the national governing body's AGM in the Landmark Hotel, Carrick on Shannon, from 1.30pm tomorrow.
While spending on fees was lower than in 2021 - when they ballooned to unprecedented levels due to the fall-out from several controversies - spending in 2022 was still much higher than before those controversies. They included the use of false quotation documents by Cycling Ireland to apply for Department of Sport grants in 2020 and a major dispute within the national governing body over a proposal to part-fund the Irish UCI Continental team, EvoPro Racing.
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It has also now emerged the financial pressure that continued within Cycling Ireland this year meant it required a bank loan to bolster its financial position in 2023. The loan helped satisfy the issue of "going concern", meaning the ability of any company or other entity to continue trading, and do so without the need to significantly scale back or curtail its activities. After the loan from Bank of Ireland was secured - and with continued support from funders and the Cycling Ireland provincial bodies - the issue of going concern was satisfactorily addressed and the Cycling Ireland accounts for 2022 were approved by the board this year.
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This time last year, stickybottle first reported the most noted increase in spending in 2021 was on “professional fees”, which increased to €706,129, up from just €58,047 in 2020 – an increase of €648,000. Much of that increase in professional fees was down to soaring consultancy fees and legal fees, with the money paid to consultants alone increasing by more than €300,000 in 2021. The 2022 spending is now set out for the first time below.
The accounts for 2022 reveal:
- Overall, the spend on "professional fees” in 2022 was €342,000. This was much lower than the €706,129 spent in 2021 but still far higher than the €58,000 spent in 2020, before the controversies.
- Consultancy fees last year were €86,000. That was down from the runaway levels of €327,000 in 2021, but still much higher than the €12,000 spent in 2020.
- Legal fees last year reached €179,000, down a little from the €227,000 incurred in 2021. Back in 2020, before the controversies, legal fees were €6,000.
- Cycling Ireland board expenses were previously unaffected by the controversies as they were €6,000 in 2020 and remained at the same level in 2021. However, in 2022 they increased to €38,000.
- Spending on "contractors" was €238,000 last year. There is no corresponding expenditure in the accounts for 2021 or 2020.
- Spending on marketing reached €382,000 last year.
Stickybottle contacted Cycling Ireland 48 hours ago seeking comment on the figures. No reply had been received at the time of writing on Friday evening.
