Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I know, but if would be good if a request could be made. I will, however, cut to chase.

The chief executive officer and board members are very welcome. As I did, they would have listened to some of the very valid contributions of the owners and breeders. They are the stakeholders who are not being engaged with by the board. We have heard that point being made clearly today. I ask the chairman of the board to indicate why that is happening. I also ask him why his initial comments were defensive.

Surely, if he is chairman of the Irish Greyhound Board, he should be proactive and not defensive. That is the first role of a chairman. Why did that happen?

In regard to Mr. Meaney's contribution on the performance of the organisation improving and his confidence in this regard, of course, it is improving but the only area where the performance is improving is in terms of income from the taxpayer, in particular the recent budget increase. The Minister's intervention means €285,000 per week will be available to the IGB next year from the Irish taxpayer. That is where the performance is improving. I do not see performance improvements in any other area, unless I am missing figures that are available to me.

There are many issues here and it appears to be a minefield. Members should not be here asking questions that should already have been answered through engagement with the Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation, which appeared before the committee earlier today. Surely any organisation that is fit for purpose or any board of directors that is performing its duties from a governance point of view would deal with this. The Cadbury report in the UK referred to governance in three areas - accountability, openness and transparency. I put it to Mr. Meaney that there seems to be a lack of accountability, a lack of transparency and a lack of openness in regard to the workings of the IGB. The fundamental principles of governance are lacking. As a result, there is a full and comprehensive breakdown in communication with the Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation. That is why we are in this situation.

The new CEO, Geraldine Larkin, is doing her utmost. She deserves the full support of the board and of the Oireachtas in trying to regain the confidence in an industry where that confidence is down the drain. We have issues around drugs, around artificial insemination and around illegal practices involving semen, where the IGB's legal advice from its own solicitors in 2014 was to deal with the issue because it was putting the organisation at risk of litigation down the road. What has been done? In Mr. Meaney's role as chairman, has he protected the organisation from potential litigation concerning the illegal of use of semen? If he has not, I put it to him that the shortcomings are putting the IGB and, by extension, the taxpayer at risk.

There are questions around the financial viability of Mr. Meaney's organisation. Without the bailout by the taxpayer, the IGB would be insolvent, and its reliance on the taxpayer cannot be overemphasised. Therefore, we need to find some solution to this communication crux. While I am not attacking Mr. Meaney, I am raising the question that, in his role as chairman, would he not consider he should be engaging more proactively with the breeders? That is simple and foremost. Can he devise a strategy to do that? If not, I would put it to him that his position is untenable. We need to get this show back on the road for the sake of the taxpayer, given the exposure in regard to debt, which is inherited but is still there and not being dealt with. The only proposal I see coming from the IGB is the sale of a potentially viable asset. Is there no other solution?