Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine today announced the awarding of a contract to carry out a review of certain aspects of the Horse Racing Industry had been awarded to Indecon.
The Minister said "The Review is intended to provide the basis for a renewed impetus to the development of the horse racing industry. It will cover a number of crucial aspects of the industry – legislation, governance structures, the size, structure and nomination process for appointments to the Board of Horse Racing Ireland, streamlining of functions and the funding model for the industry."
Minister Coveney confirmed that the contract had been awarded to Indecon following the conclusion of a competitive tendering process which was published on the Government’s etenders procurement website.
Referring to the stakeholder consultation process facilitated by his Department as part of the Review, Minister Coveney said "I am delighted with the level of interest and enthusiasm demonstrated by stakeholders in the Review. My Department received in excess of 40 submissions which have been passed to Indecon for consideration."
The Minister repeated his belief in the potential of the thoroughbred sector to make an even greater contribution to the country’s economic recovery in the future and said he looked forward to receiving the report of the review. He stated "the report will be important in providing the basis for actions to underpin the development of the horse racing and breeding sector into the future."
Note for Editors
The Terms and Reference for this review are as follows:
1. Review the legislation governing the Irish horse racing industry, in particular the Irish Horseracing Industry Act 1994, the Horse and Greyhound Racing (Betting Charges and Levies) Act, 1999, Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001 and the Horse Racing Ireland (Membership) Act 2001, and assess whether they provide the most appropriate governance structures for the horseracing industry.
2. Evaluate whether the Horse Racing Ireland Board structure, size and nomination process is appropriate and effective. Make recommendations for change, if necessary.
3. Consider the scope for streamlining all of the functions assigned under the legislation having regard to efficiency, effectiveness, economy and independence of regulatory decisions and make recommendations accordingly.
4. Review the current funding arrangements for the industry having regard to funding systems in place in other major racing competitor countries and recommend an appropriate funding structure for the long term development of the sector.