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

A number of different sectors will have a claim to media rights - I am sure Deputy Penrose will refer to racecourse owners - such as racehorse owners, jockeys and trainers, who have a deep knowledge of how to use the product they are training. Ultimately, HRI has a responsibility to put a structure in place that can negotiate the best possible deal for the racing industry for media rights. The IRFU has to do that for rugby. It is proposed to put in place a media rights committee, comprising five people who know what they are doing. My inclination is to trust the board, which ultimately has to stand over any decisions made and deals done and signed off on. It will have to engage in consultation, something that we will come to later, in terms of racecourse owners. It is a group of five people who need a certain skill set to get a good job done in a fairly complex area - that is, media rights - which is constantly changing.

I will consider the issue between now and next week when, it is to be hoped, Report Stage will be taken. We should not prescribe the areas or elements of the sector that the people concerned should come from.