James Heffernan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Neighbours and friends have a stake in the dog. Indeed the dog syndicate that my sister is involved with had a good win lately. I take this opportunity to congratulate the O'Brien family of Cush and Kilfinane who had a tremendous success in the race at Clonmel with their dog, Vale View Flyer. I am assured by all that the craic was a terror both on the way down and back. I spent many a good night at various fund-raising and other events in the refurbished dog track in Limerick. The dog track in Limerick lost €368,000 last year. Haemorrhaging money at that rate cannot continue.

In the course of his speech the Minister acknowledged that he is conscious of the onerous responsibility that individuals take on when they are appointed to a board of a State body. It is important that members of the board have the appropriate mix of skills to enable them to direct such an important industry. I am not sure if the board members on Bord na gCon have the necessary skills to deal with the financial crisis facing the industry. The model of fantastic dog tracks was fine when the economy was booming and everybody had plenty of money, but times have changed. The crux of the matter is political appointments to State boards. My gripe is that when a new Government takes office, it clears out the existing State boards, and party loyalists or those who have done favours get a cushy number on a State board. That does not mean the person appointed has the necessary skills to be on a board. I do not think it is the way to appoint any member. In fact a member of Bord na gCon who canvassed for his position on the board and was duly appointed, a man of the utmost integrity who is a neighbour of mine, has made his concerns known about other members of this politically appointed board. People are not appointed on merit and this policy has served Bord na gCon very badly. He admitted that he does not the skills to tackle this indebtedness. I put it to the Minister of State that members of the board are out of their depth and they do not know how to deal with the issue. This man became so frustrated with what was happening - the Minister of State knows the man and was made aware of the fact by the man I am talking about - that his only recourse was to resign. I know that many of those on State boards would hang on with their fingernails for the perks attached to going to meetings.

What went on in Bord na gCon with the internal auditor is bizarre. The internal auditor was involved in the investigation of running so-called ringers in Dundalk which was brought to the attention of the board, but then the two who were in charge of the investigation were shoved aside. One of them is now back to work as the CEO has left, but the internal auditor has been paid off and sent out to grass. I certainly smell a rat. I am sure I am not the only one in the Chamber who smells the rat. I wish to put a simple question which requires only a yes or no answer and I hope I get a response from the Minister of State today. Is the Minister of State satisfied with the way Bord na gCon is being run and does he have full confidence in the board members?