Minister of State for Sport Jack Chambers has said all State funding for boxing, with exception of athletes in the High Performance Unit, will be cut in 2023 unless the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) agree "very practical reforms" in the coming months.
IABA members overwhelmingly voted against proposals at an emergency general meeting in Roscommon yesterday.
That was despite a threat of a 15% cut in funding as well as a restriction on grants.
Sport Ireland has said it will implement a suite of financial sanctions on the IABA until such time as the serious outstanding governance issues go unresolved.
These include a monthly payment schedule which covers operational and staffing costs only, and the exclusion of the IABA and its clubs from other grant schemes run by Sport Ireland. In the interest of minimising the already significant impact on athletes, this excludes services provided through the Sport Ireland Institute.
Sport Ireland say the sanctions will not have any impact on direct athlete funding delivered through the international carding scheme.
Those sanctions will be imposed this week, with the government now giving a two-month cooling off period for the IABA board to initiate making the changes sought by the state.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Minister Chambers said: "We have to set basic standards in sport. We're giving two months for the IABA board to come back with positive steps on how they propose to reform and bring governance.
"If we don't receive that by the middle of September, Sport Ireland will be communicating to the IABA that there will be an escalation of the current position, and in 2023 if there's no reform there will be no funding at all.
"If there's no reform we cannot continue to fund IABA in its current governance structure. I'm being very clear to those who run IABA that they need to embrace the basic levels of reform. The proposed reforms are very practical and basic. We cannot have the ongoing dysfunction."
Irish boxers are in the middle of an Olympic cycle, approaching crucial qualifiers for the Paris 2024 games as a threat hangs over the future of the sport.
Minister Chambers has said that the boxers in the High Performance Unit will be protected, as well as ringfencing the funds currently withheld, despite the possible escalation in sanctions.
He promised the IABA new funding that is "above and beyond" the current limits if they make the changes proposed.
He added: "We cannot continue with the status quo. We need to speaking about supporting and building grassroots boxing right through to High Performance.
"I want to support them. The members themselves have decided to follow through with this. It's a marginal cut in funding, 15%, and it is a crisis of their own making as an organisation. They have a clear choice of getting the threshold of funding they were allocated but even more this year, above and beyond what they got last year, if they embrace reform.
"I think it's very important to be clear and transparent on what we expect about taxpayers' money and state funding. We expect the best standards of governance when it comes to sporting organisations. When you read the independent review with IABA asked and ordered for themselves, it demonstrates an organisation that has ongoing conflict and dysfunction.
"Progressive, sensible and practical reforms proposed around governance (have been rejected).
"Now is a time for the IABA to reflect themselves on why they rejected their own recommendations. With every decision comes a consequence. That is why I was very clear and it was important that there will be consequences."
Both IABA officials and Minister Chambers have in particular expressed their surprise at the members of the body rejecting a proposal that could see Annual General Meetings held in Northern Ireland in the future.
Minister Chambers concluded: "I'm really surprised to see the rejection of the motion to have AGMs in the north. It's a 32-county All-Ireland organisation and I cannot understand how this was rejected as well. It sends a terrible message. We've had many successful boxers from the six counties.
"If you look at the recommendations in the report, I haven't seen any coherent argument from anybody about why they wouldn't accept the recommendations. They would give athletes a voice, bring better gender representation and many other progressive steps around better connection with their grassroots and supporting the volunteers."
Sport Ireland Chief Executive Dr Una May expressed her disappointment at the failure of the membership of IABA to make vital changes to the organisation's governance at yesterday’s EGM.
"Sport Ireland notes the strong turnout of clubs at the EGM and the strength of opinions expressed. That level of engagement and debate is welcome," a statement read.
"That said, the issues of substance in the IABA Governance Review must be addressed. They cannot be set aside when, in fact, implementing the 64 recommendations within the report would tackle many of the concerns expressed by the clubs.
"There is a consensus on the need for reform and that must be the immediate focus of everyone in the IABA now."
