Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will make some points to the witnesses. I think they are on the right track with their comments on the composition of the board with nine members going forward. I am delighted to hear they are meeting the stakeholders. We have to buy into the stakeholders in the formation of the new board. That is important. I also think the board has to have a wide range of skills. We will not go over past history, but the last board and its size did not serve the industry well. A more confined board, with nine people, including the four representatives of the industry is the way to go. Trying to get agreement through consultation with the stakeholders on the composition of that board is definitely the way forward.

I turn to the tender for marketing that was lost to another body. How is that working in practice? Of the money provided to affiliates between 2020 and 2023, Showjumping Ireland, Dressage Ireland and Eventing Ireland got marketing supports, which is what I would expect. We now have a tender being given to another body to market the Irish sport horse. There surely has to be overlap between HSI and the organisation that got this tender. How is this working in reality? Another company has won a tender to market Irish horse. When I hear Horse Sport Ireland, I would automatically feel that remit would fall within its basket. How is that working in practice?