Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

Thank you, Chairman. As members are aware, Bord na gCon, which was established under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, has responsibility for the control, regulation and development of the greyhound industry in Ireland. It operates racing activities through its subsidiary company network and licences greyhound racing at other privately owned tracks. It also operates catering and beverage services at its tracks. I have included a graphic in the opening comments to illustrate the group structure as at the end of 2017.

The financial statements of Bord na gCon are prepared on a group basis, with separate financial statements for each of the subsidiaries. In 2017, the board recognised a surplus of €417,000 from the group's overall activities. The comparable figure for 2016 was a surplus of €2.35 million. This was before recognition of a €4 million exceptional gain in 2016 arising from a restructuring of Bord na gCon's pension scheme.

Turnover from racing activities for 2017 was €22.7 million, down almost 20% from the €28.3 million recorded in 2016. The decrease reflected significant falls in track attendance receipts, in catering sales, and in tote betting. Racing expenses also fell year on year by around 13%. The net result was a loss on racing activities of €545,000. This was before payment of prizes and incentives totalling just over €8 million, about the same level as in 2016.

Non-racing income was up by around €1 million to €17.8 million in 2017. This included funding paid from the horse and greyhound fund of €16 million, which was up €1.2 million year on year. Other funding comprised contributions to prize money of €1.75 million from dog owners and sponsors, and around €81,000 generated from media and other income.

The financial statements for 2017 show the board was carrying borrowings of almost €22 million at the end of the year, with related bank charges over the assets of a number of the subsidiary companies. As members are aware, the board entered into an agreement with the Department of Education and Skills during 2017 to sell its facilities at Harold's Cross at a contracted sale price of €23 million. The sale concluded in May 2018 and a substantial part of the sale proceeds were used to repay the board's bank loans. I issued a clear audit opinion on the 2017 financial statements.

Bord na gCon's financial statements for 2018 were certified by me on 4 September 2019. Audit certification of those financial statements took longer than planned because of the need to ensure that the results of the board's annual asset impairment review were accounted for appropriately. Since the 2018 financial statements have not yet been presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further in that regard.