Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

If I could turn to the question of doping, one of the problems with the claims being made about the fear that drug taking is a major problem in Irish horse racing is that it is very difficult to catch. Those who do this kind of thing are very skilled at staying ahead of the investigators. We know how they had to be brought down in America and that has brought changes, including to governance and the make-up of governance bodies of the horse racing regulatory sector.

I understand what happens when the Department sends people to seize imported products from the customs authorities. My source for this is Mr. Louis Riordan, a name the witnesses will know, a man from within the Civil Service. He pointed out to me that often when customs seize imported products they write to the consignee giving him or her a warning and sometimes asking for permission to destroy the product seized. Given that it is unlikely generally that customs will seize a consignment, when that happens it is a rare opportunity to find out who is using drugs, but very often there are not controlled deliveries. Is it the case that the Department sometimes sends people out who have no pharmacological qualifications and not a lot of experience in the area and sometimes they do not carry out controlled deliveries, therefore frustrating our ability to know who is importing the drugs? Has that been happening?