BERNARD ALLEN, the Minister for Sport, yesterday rejected statements that he refused to act on a request to pay the hospital bills of the international athlete Nick Sweeney.

Commenting on reports that the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) had written to him on four occasions about paying the cost of a knee operation which Sweeney underwent in London last month, Allen said: "This is totally incorrect. There was no correspondence on the matter between the athlete and my Department, nor did BLE or the Olympic Council contact us about paying a hospital bill.

"If there are hospital expenses to be met, then the matter should be taken up by BLE or the Olympic Council and it will, of course, get prompt and full attention. There is no question of an athlete being made to suffer in these circumstances because of money.

"The Olympic Council was funded up to December 31st and to that extent I'm surprised by statements that they were not in a position to help the athlete. I don't wish to see any athlete caught in the crossfire between individuals or organisations and I think it is deplorable that Nick Sweeney should now find himself dragged into this matter."

Pat Hickey, president of the OCI, said that a statement attributed to him that the Council had sent four letters to the Minister specifically about the Sweeney case was incorrect.

"What I did say was that I had written four times to the Minister about funding arrangements for the coming year and that I hadn't received a reply," he said.

He said that without the necessary funding by Government, the Council would be unable to help any athlete, including Sweeney, with medical expenses, and to that extent it was imperative that the position be clarified at the earliest opportunity.

The exchange between the Minister and the head of the umbrella organisation catering for 27 national federations comes just weeks before the publication of the National Plan for Sport, commissioned by Allen last year.

There has been widespread speculation that the OCI's role as the conduit for State grants will be modified under new proposals and this has led to friction between the OCI and the Minister.

"There are assumptions being made about the National Plan which are not wholly correct," said Allen yesterday. "Interpretations are being put on the report which are scaring federations and individuals into set positions.

"There are people out there who are afraid of change and who refused to be part of the consultative process. All I'm now asking is that they hold their fire until the report is published."