Mr. John Powell:

I was nominated to the board of Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, by the joint racing regulatory bodies and received my letter of appointment from the Minister on 30 May 2016. As one of those who voted against the reappointment of the chief executive officer for a third term, I wish to explain that this was because of a concern shared by others that it would be in breach of the Government’s guidelines and fail the test of good corporate governance. I expressed my concerns at what was effectively my first board meeting in July. It was not about the individual and it should never have been dealt with as an eleventh hour issue. It was based on my belief it was a collective failure and that the matter should have been dealt with in the context of an open competition several months previously. The board voted by a majority to accept the reappointment. I accepted the majority decision.