Ms Geraldine Larkin:

Our response to Indecon details our financial proposals. The additional funding we have received in the recent budget will enable us to drive forward that process further and faster and will ensure that we can deliver.

In response to the 27 recommendations in the Indecon report, we have set out key actions under each of the 27 recommendations, with associated timeframes indicating where we are going to be and when the action will be done. A significant portion of that work will be completed by the end of 2015. We have also committed to reporting back to the Minister regarding our progress on those responses.

Our analysis of performance includes details such as examining the subvention per attendee at various tracks in order to see where we are spending our money, to understand where the best value can be obtained and to examine how we will provide financing into the future. Our structure is the same as when Bord na gCon was established in 1958. We must now decide whether that structure is still the best fit for us in the future. This is apart from any asset disposal we might consider. We will be looking at the core underlying structures in order to assess whether they are a best fit for the future. We have taken soundings of the views of industry stakeholders as to how racing might be best structured.

There are inherently too many races. There has been an assessment of the cost of running races relative to the contribution being made. We have identified unprofitable races which we would be better advised not to run on a particular night. As part of our calibration exercise in response to Indecon, we have identified at least 86 race nights that will not go ahead in 2015. This decision will be subject to ongoing review.

In some cases the shoulder nights actually arise during the summer. Therefore, it is a question of being as specific as looking on a night-by-night, stadium-by-stadium and track-by-track basis at what it is costing both to deliver the racing, the impact on the industry itself, the stakeholders, the dog pool and the prize money we are issuing. It is a very tight analysis going forward.