Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Heydon has raised some very good questions, most of which he has posed for me. From the point of view of Mr. Bernard Caldwell and Mr. John Weld I too would be interested in being educated on what has happened in the board post-2001. I was lucky enough to be brought up in this industry and have a passion for it. In the Seanad if I mention the racing industry members look at me as if I am a mad person because most issues are about health, medical cards and so on. While there is much discussion here about the closure of post offices in rural Ireland, this industry is keeping every corner of rural Ireland going and will do so in future but we are at a crossroads. It is important to have the representatives appear before the committee and for us to be educated. I have one question for Mr. John Weld which Deputy Martin Heydon asked in a roundabout way. In summarising, the nub of the heads of the Bill is that we all want to modernise racing, to save money and streamline the HRI with the Turf Club but it is all about the integrity of the racing industry. In point three of the summary he states: "Other models, where integrity services are run by the Racing Authority have not always appeared independent." Perhaps he could educate everybody by doing some storytelling for the committee.

I should say to Mr. Bernard Caldwelll, that if I have any say at the end of all these consultations his organisation simply must have a seat on the board, otherwise splitting in three creates a nonsense. I thank witnesses for their presentations.