Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are a couple of matters. While I appreciate that the Minister is here, it is unfortunate that he was not here before two days ago when Mr. Brian Kavanagh started his third term. Questions have been raised on this matter previously and we want to know what action the Minister took in accordance with his statutory responsibility under the Horse Racing Ireland Act 2016 to seek information from the board with regard to these matters.

A number of Deputies across parties have written to the Minister directly, written to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, or tabled questions. To be honest, the information we have got has been completely contradictory and the Minister has not answered any of the points tonight.

I want to know if the Minister engaged in discussions since being made aware that the so-called business case upon which he told us he supported the decision to reappoint Mr. Kavanagh for a third period came from the board. The Minister was alerted months ago that such was not the case. What steps did the Minister take since being informed that the business case did not come from the board in order to make contact with various board members on the matter? We know that board members did not have sight of it.

The fact that the board subsequently ratified the appointment does not really overcome many of those points in terms of the contradiction. If one looks at it, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, in reply to a parliamentary question that is a matter of public record, stated on 13 July that the appointment had been made by the board but was strongly supported by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I would like to know if the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is wrong on that because on the same day the Minister, Deputy Creed, was answering another letter stating that the matter was currently under consideration. I would like to know if the Minister, Deputy Creed, had seen the business case in July. What date was that submitted to the Minister? Was it submitted to him by the chairman or by the CEO?

Were the names of the board members on that business case and, if not, did that not strike the Minister as odd? Did the Minister seek clarification from the board that it had sanctioned the business case submitted? The Minister is telling members it is the responsibility of the board - it is - but it is subject to his consent and that of his colleague. Frankly, diametrically-opposed statements were issued on the same day as to what was going on. The Minister should also deal with an issue I find to be rather strange. He told me earlier that he would look into the matter and that it was under consideration. At the same time, however, the Department's website shows a briefing document was prepared by the Minister's officials in May stating he already had sought the permission of the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, to extend the contract by five years. This document has been on the website since May, but yet in September the Minister wrote to state that it was under consideration.

Many things do not add up here and while I do not wish to hog the issue, it is also of concern that this is the first reappointment of a person for an unprecedented third term. It is a little scary because while it may be stated - I have heard this - that the individual has great expertise, is almost in a unique position and nobody on the planet has the expertise to replace him, there are two problems with that. First, that is the type of argument put forward to support the Olympic Council of Ireland's ratification of the same person in a position for decades unchallenged. If one is dealing with a board, Government guidelines on appointments stating someone should not serve more than seven years are in place for a reason; it generally is not healthy. A second extension was given on the basis of an open advertisement, which allowed for some transparency but to give a third one without doing that simply is bizarre because it is not healthy. Every organisation needs fresh blood and the Minister should deal with the fact that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine raised concerns about Mr. Kavanagh's pay and about how he is in substantial breach of the salary cap for such positions while staff members in Horse Racing Ireland have had their salaries cut. Was this raised with the board or the chairman when they came to the Minister on these matters? While I am under some pressure of time, the Minister probably will need to come back before the committee because there is a lot of stuff there with regard to questions.