Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have an opportunity to raise a few issues. I was interested to hear the presentation made by the board of the Irish Greyhound Board. I wish the new chief executive officer well with the daunting and unenviable task of trying to restore public confidence in the board. The Indecon report made it clear that the organisation has seen a drastic fall of 55.6% in revenues over the period covered by the report. The witnesses are here today because the taxpayer provides annual funding of over €11 million to the industry. That figure will increase next year. One can argue whether it is right or wrong for the taxpayer to fund greyhound racing while children are waiting for treatment in our public hospitals. That is a debate for another day. The question we need to consider today is whether we are obtaining value for money. Is the corporate governance in the organisation receiving this funding up to scratch? Is the money being spent by the taxpayer bringing an output for the taxpayer? The simple answer to that question is "No". The Indecon report clearly highlights that. It clearly identifies a number of shortcomings to which I will come in a moment.

I agree with my colleague, Deputy Ó Cuív, that the Indecon report is extremely damning about an industry that is currently not fit for purpose. I have looked over the Irish Greyhound Board's annual report for 2012, the most recent year for which such a report is available. It shows that the debt-to-equity gearing ratio increased from 26% in 2006 or 2007 to 66.6% in 2013. Surely, by anyone's standards, that raises massive governance questions for the board of the Irish Greyhound Board. What was happening in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012? It is unbelievable that the board did not take corrective action when the net debt-to-equity ratio from a gearing point of view was moving in that direction.

I agree with Senator Landy that the Minister stepped in here because the disquiet coming from breeders and owners was being raised with Members of the Oireachtas. I know I certainly raised it in the Seanad and perhaps also at this committee. The Minister has had to undertake an independent investigation, which has proved that the board was simply not fit for purpose. I would like to know whether the current chairman of the board believes these issues were discussed at board level. What corrective actions, if any, were taken? If such actions were not taken, why not? In the view of the chairman, is an appropriate mix of expertise represented on the board? I refer to the financial competence and expertise of the individuals on the board. Does the chairman agree with my colleague, Deputy Ó Cuív, that the board is no longer fit for purpose? Given that a new chief executive officer is in place, perhaps a new board should be allowed to take over to freshen the image of the Irish Greyhound Board at a governance level. I would contend that a new board is required. That is a matter for the current board members and-or the Minister.

I would like to touch on a few other issues. If we look at the figures for the private and public tracks, we will see that the private tracks are losing money hand over fist. I have gathered figures on the performance of the private tracks in 2013. It seems that the income of those tracks was approximately €3.4 million. When costs of approximately €8.1 million, including prize money grants, are factored in, it is clear that these tracks lost approximately €4.5 million in 2013 alone, from an economic point of view. Surely that is not a sustainable position. We can blame the economy and everything else, but every organisation, regardless of whether it is publicly or privately funded, must react to internal and external economic factors in Ireland and elsewhere. There seems to have been no reaction here whatsoever. It seems that no action was taken to cut costs or improve performance. It appears that a decision has been made to let the taxpayer foot the bill. It is simply not good enough for those involved in the board to think they will be okay because the grant they get is increasing next year.

I have many examples of things that are going on in the industry and many questions about them. I know time is against us. The asset sales have been mentioned. How long have those properties been on the market? Has there been any negotiation on them? Have any offers been made? I would like to delve into many other financial matters. I might have an opportunity to do so during the question and answer session. Regarding the issue of drugs in the greyhound industry, the witnesses might help me out with the name of a drug that is being tested for. I know it is the same form of drug for which Ben Johnson was banned in 1988. My understanding is that two types of test can be carried out for the drug in question.