Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Kavanagh and his colleagues. I read with interest the presentation and its accompanying documents, as well as the 2016 fact book from Horse Racing Ireland. There is no doubt that it is a very profitable and prestigious industry that is doing very well and making great gains. The issue for a lot of people is the fact that a lot of taxpayers' money is going into it. Our responsibility is to ensure that taxpayers' money is well spent. I will go back to the issue raised by Deputy Michael D'Arcy, namely, the difficulties around the appointment of Mr. Kavanagh last year. Can Mr. Kavanagh give us an assurance that we will not be back in this situation in five years' time and that he will not be looking for another five-year contract at that point? Can he give an assurance that there will not be a golden handshake or huge gratuity at the end of that period? I note that he said a succession plan was in place.

Mr. Kavanagh did not say he had a contract of indefinite duration but I got the impression that there was a possibility of one being put in place. If that were the case it would appear to me that Mr. Kavanagh and others on the board, including the chairperson, engineered a situation whereby their own reappointment would take place. What are his comments on that?

HRI got €60 million in Government funding last year and €64 million this year. We do not know its other income streams and this is most inappropriate. I asked Mr. Moloney about the media deal, only to be told it was commercially sensitive. That is not appropriate either. Given that the Irish people put so much money into this industry, it would be appropriate to disclose how much the media deal was worth. Who negotiated it and how was it negotiated? What percentage goes to HRI and what percentage back to the various racecourses?