Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

It is proposed under section 26 (1) that: "HRI shall, in respect of each horse race at a race fixture at an authorised racecourse, approve the amount and form of any prize offered and, where the prize is in monetary form, make deductions from the prize money in accordance with HRI directives."

Essentially this is a reflection of current practice. There is no explicit reference to this in the current legislation, but de facto it is what happens.

In regard to section 26 (2) one of the reasons that deductions from prize money are made is that a number of charities are operated by the racing regulatory body, namely, the jockeys accident fund; the qualified riders accident fund; the jockeys emergency fund; and the Drogheda Memorial Fund.

These are very laudable efforts to provide assistance to people who are injured or have long-term disabilities as a result of racing, or their families. These are existing charities and are already funded by the levies. It was felt to be appropriate to add this little protection here to ensure if HRI wishes to amend a directive related to these deductions that it cannot do so, in respect of these particular charities, without the agreement of the racing regulatory body. Therefore, it is a protection of the status quo.