A WAR of words is developing between the Minister for Sport, Dr McDaid, and BLE over the parlous finances of the athletics organisation.

In response to an Irish Times report that BLE was suspending their international programme because the Minister was withholding grant aid, Dr McDaid said:

"I want to make it quite clear that funding for athletics is available and will be forthcoming when the athletics bodies, including BLE, agree to finalise the joint submission for funding for 1999.

"I have stated that my policy is to streamline the administrative structure of sporting organisations. I have therefore asked the athletics sector to reach a situation quickly where development funds for the sport can be channelled through one administrative structure as an important step towards achieving a unified approach in Irish athletics.

"While I am glad to learn that BLE, the National Athletics and Cultural Association (NACA) and the Irish Schools Association have agreed to participate in a joint planning group, I am nevertheless disappointed that it has not been possible to commit these joint proposals to paper for submission to me for consideration in the context of the allocation of funding for 1999."

If the Minister hoped to placate BLE with his statement, he was disillusioned almost immediately. Stating that Dr McDaid was merely playing with words, one official said:

"Nothing has changed as a result of this. He is still not prepared to release grant aid to fund our international programme, and until such time as he does it will not be possible to proceed with our plans.

"To obtain this money - and the Minister confirms it in his statement - we must sign up to a document which infringes our rights as the only organisation, licensed by the IAAF, to promote international athletics in the Republic of Ireland.

"Our constitution prevents us from ceding this to another athletics organisation - and Dr McDaid knows it. To tie our funding to an abrogation of this right is to put BLE in an impossible situation."

To obtain the grant aid to prepare athletes for the Sydney Olympics, BLE must agree to issue a permit to the NACA to stage their biggest additional cross country event, Ras na hEireann, at Dunleer, Co Louth.

Another item on the NACA's submission refers to an international race in Northern Ireland, which comes under the jurisdiction of Athletics Northern Ireland, the body recognised by the IAAF.

Thanks to the intervention of the IAAF, BLE will, after all, be able to send a three-man team to the world indoor track championships in Japan next weekend.

The international authorities have agreed to meet the travelling expenses of the Irish, and it is expected that the selection of James Nolan, David Matthews and Peter Coghlan will be confirmed today.

Likewise, the threat to withdraw from the world cross country championships at Belfast next month has been lifted after BLE officials agreed to cost-cutting measures to reduce their original budget of £7,000 by half.

Instead of the customary three-day preparation for this event, the 36 Irish competitors for the six-race programme will now have only one overnight stay in Belfast. It is scarcely the ideal preparation for an event of this importance, but in deference to both the IAAF and the local organising committee, BLE have decided to go with the proposition on a one-off basis.

The International Olympic Committee probe into fresh allegations of corruption must be finished by March 17th, chief investigator Dick Pound said yesterday.

"We've got to complete the stuff we're working on sometime within the next week and let folks know what's going on before the next session," said the Canadian lawyer, head of the IOC ad hoc inquiry committee.

"We'd like to stop the bleeding by March 17th. This death by a 1,000 cuts isn't much fun."

The full membership of the IOC is expected to expel or clear those involved at a two-day special session on March 17th and 18th.