Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The level of questions and answers have demonstrated that the industry is of great interest to the members of the committee. That only reflects the interest held by the wider public, which we all endeavour to represent. It is because it is such a traditional activity in many parts of the country that there is such genuine concern. Many phrases such as "reputation", "confidence" and "finance" come up time and again. In order to restore the financial position of the industry confidence and reputation have to be restored.

There are 27 recommendations. The Indecon report has been very valuable. I presume the response from the greyhound board is on the website at this stage and is publically available. While all of that has happened, the elephant in the room has been reputation. The issue may not have become apparent were it not for the crash in the economy. Somebody on an expedition to a mountain who is hit by an avalanche might say there were weaknesses in the rules which allowed them to go there, but the main focus has to be on getting out alive. The same applies to Bord na gCon. It is a matter of the industry surviving. Confidence and reputation need to be rebuilt.

The Indecon report recommends, among other things, legislation. I remind everybody that section C of the heads of the Bill to be approved by Government is the greyhound industry (amendment) Bill to amend and extend the Greyhound Industry Act 1958 and the Greyhound Industry (Amendment) Act 1993 and related matters. It is expected to be published in 2015. Today we finalised agreement on a report on a pre-legislative scrutiny exercise we did on the general scheme of a Horse Racing Ireland (Amendment) Bill. Integrity is an issue which has featured prominently. Integrity and finance have been interlinked and have probably been the two key matters of greatest concern. I anticipate that the Bill be go through the same process of pre-legislative scrutiny, at which stage we will have the Government and legislative response to the Indecon report and will know about the ongoing efforts made by the board and executive.

Ms Larkin is a brave woman. The Indecon report was published three months ago, and she started her job three months ago. I hope she went in with her eyes wide open. I wish everyone well. The industry needs all stakeholders to feel they are a part of the solution to restore the status the industry, sport and recreation once had. We took a decision to bring the Bord na gCon executive and board members before the committee to discuss the Indecon report before we held further hearings. I anticipate we will agree the process at our meeting. We have not finished and will send a response to the Minister before the publication of the draft Bill on the greyhound industry.

I thank members and the representatives from the greyhound board for their engagement. It was very useful and productive. It was conducted, as far as is possible, in a non-political way with people who have a genuine interest in restoring the industry's reputation and bringing it back to a sound financial footing.