Mr. John Moloney:

I thank the Chairman and members for affording Mr. Paddy Walsh, CEO of the Association of Irish Racecourses, AIR, and I the opportunity to make a presentation on the general scheme of the Horse Racing Ireland (amendment) Bill 2014. I have been chairman of AIR for the past four years and served as its vice chairman for the 12 years prior to that.

We represent all 26 racecourses, two of which are in Northern Ireland. I represent the Association of Irish Racecourses, AIR, on the board of Horse Racing Ireland, of which I am a member of the finance committee, chairman of the media rights committee and also a member of the fixtures and programmes committee. I am also a member of the Turf Club and the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase, INHS, Committee, I am vice chairman of the appeals committee and for the past 25 years I have been the manager of Galway racecourse. Thankfully, we had a very successful meeting at Galway this year. The Galway Races contribute in the region of €60 million to the economy of Galway city and county annually. My interest in horse racing stretches back over 50 years. I have been involved in breeding and the horse racing industry all my life. I will hand over to our chief executive, Paddy Walsh, who will go through our submission and answer any questions the members may have.