Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let us read the legislation:

(4) The race-fixtures committee shall have not more than 5 members (including a chairman) and shall include at least one representative from the Racing Regulatory Body and one from authorised racecourses with such other members that HRI considers appropriate.

(5) The chairman of the race-fixtures committee shall be appointed by HRI.

(6) The membership of the race-fixtures committee shall be limited to members of HRI.

(7) A member of the race-fixtures committee who fails to perform his or her functions may be removed at any time by HRI.

(8) HRI may regulate the procedure of the race-fixtures committee.

This is a sub-committee of the board and its members are on that board. It is a recommendation body and works closely with the board. This is not a case of the board sitting on high above the race fixtures committee, which understands what is happening on the ground. It is the opposite. They interact with each other. The committee advises the board on finalising decisions for fixtures. I am unaware of any incident in which the HRI board disagreed with the race fixtures committee. They work hand in hand. This is about ensuring a focus group feeds into HRI to ensure the fixtures are right. Were the situation different, I would understand the Deputy. If there was a prawn sandwich brigade making decisions on fixtures and ignoring the people on the ground, that would be one thing, but that is not how this structure works. It cannot work like that because of the way it is designed under this legislation.