Mr. Kieran Mulvey:

No, SJI is not part of the Irish Sports Council. The chief executive, Mr. Treacy, is more familiar with these matters, but as I understand it, all the affiliates representing equestrian Ireland, from pony clubs to showjumping to equestrian events and so on, come under the umbrella group of Horse Sport Ireland, HSI. It is an amalgam of a considerable number of bodies. I think there may have been 19 in total which, as stated by Mr. Treacy, in 2007 came under the remit of the agency known as Horse Sport Ireland. All these bodies retain a degree of autonomy over their section of the horse sport industry in Ireland.

I would expect that decisions on grants - I hope this is the case and I will check it out - met by way of Exchequer funds are appropriately, properly and transparently accounted for, such that inquiries about any decision and how it was arrived at can be responded to. While the person inquiring may not agree with the decision, he or she should at least be told the basis for it. That is what is practised by the Council. As the national funding body, I would expect that level of transparency would apply in decision-making.

Deputy Deasy raised a similar issue in terms of how grants are allocated. There are historical and current methods in terms of Showjumping Ireland and the horse shows that take place, including inter-classification. As I understand it, and I am subject to correction on this, in terms of applications for international shows in the showjumping or pony classes, we have to go through the Fédération Equestre Internationale, FEI, which is the international accredited federation in this area. We have told Horse Sport Ireland, in terms of its looking to hold these shows, that we support this in so far as the shows can be funded and carried out expeditiously at no cost to the taxpayer. The events this year were very successful. The European Championships held at Millstreet this year was a very successful show. It was effectively managed with the co-operation, I would hope, of everyone concerned.