Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 9 July 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Alleged Issue of Abuse of Greyhounds: Bord na gCon

Photo of Tim LombardTim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My two colleagues have made lengthy presentations on the RTÉ "Prime Time" programme broadcast on 26 June. It was a significant broadcast which shed light on the unfortunate procedures shown to occur in the industry. Some of the procedures went back years and were without a shadow of a doubt unfortunate. We had hoped the industry had moved away from financial issues and into a new era. The programme damaged the industry in the public's eye and we have seen reaction to it in the past two weeks. I want to ask Mr. Nyhan about the reaction at dog tracks from the public and sponsors and the feedback from owners. How damaging has the two-week period been to the industry?

We hope the new legislation and new financial position will give the industry a new lease of life. What changes are required to move forward? What do we need to do to ensure we can bring public support back to the industry?

I ask the Chairman to look again at the traceability statement, what he said about traceability and how it is proposed it will work. It will be one of the key factors in bringing energy back into the industry.

From a bovine perspective, the website of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, ICBF, is one with which all of us here are familiar. It has a national, rather than an international, remit. It was stated that, in the case of greyhounds, the database might have an international remit, particularly in the context of cross-Border traceability. If we are to have that traceability in the industry, do we need to have one organisation to cover both jurisdictions, namely, Ireland and the United Kingdom? How would it tie-in? What thoughts does Mr. Nyhan have on how traceability can be tied-in between the two jurisdictions?

I thank the delegates for the presentation. It was mentioned that a request had been made for clarity on some issues raised in the RTÉ programme. I think a request was made for a copy of the footage and documentation, but they have not been received two weeks later. Is Mr. Nyhan concerned about this? What legal powers does the Irish Greyhound Board have to deal with the mistreatment issues raised in the programme? Where do the regulations of the board stand in dealing with them? Where does the board go when it receives this information? Will it pass it on to the relevant authority to investigate? Is it the authority that will investigate? Two weeks after the programme was made, will Mr. Nyhan elaborate on what the board will do when it receives the information?

Turning to the differences in the data, 5,987 dogs were unaccounted for. That is a large number that rings in the brain. The programme graphically depicted treatment that was cruel. It gave the impression that the dogs were destroyed, unfortunately. Is it possible to break down the data? Mr. Nyhan stated data from 2009 had been used in tying the figures together. As I might be wrong about that, I ask the him to clarify the position. I think, however, that the programme was looking at events in 2013 and 2015, but the data used were from 2009. It seems amazing that in putting the story together data were used that were four years old compared to the greyhound pool being examined.

Other issues such as sampling have been covered. I have a basic question about how it is proposed that the new care fund will work. Will legislation be required or is the legislation that has been passed strong enough to enable the Irish Greyhound board to have such a care trust? Where does the board sit on the legislation? Does the legislation need to be re-examined by the Houses of the Oireachtas to tie in that aspect or does it give the board the power to tie everything together? If this matter does fall back onto the desk of the board, how long would it take to put such a proposal in place in order that we would have some clarity on the care trust proposal?

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