Professor Patrick Wall:

I thank the Chairman, Deputies and Senators for giving us the opportunity to say a few words. Horse Sport Ireland governs non-racing sport horses. I have been the non-executive chairperson for the past two years. Mr. James Kennedy is the non-executive chairman of our finance committee and a former managing director of Bausch and Lomb. He has 20 years' experience in American multinational companies so we are lucky to have him. Mr. Mark Bolger is our financial controller on the executive staff and Mr. Damian McDonald is our CEO.

Horse Sport Ireland is different from many sporting federations in that it has 28 affiliates under its umbrella and covers a wide range of equestrian activities, from showjumping to mounted games, from polo to harness racing. In addition to the sporting element, we have maintained two stud books. We are responsible for horse registrations and we have a breeding programme to try to develop the sector. We also engage in the marketing of horses and ponies and we market Ireland as a venue for tourism and spectating. There are many opportunities in the field and we have just completed a strategy with two key stakeholders, the RDS and Teagasc. We worked on a document for 12 months, which was launched in March, and it is timely that the document is out now. The key areas we looked at included improving the herd quality, because we have the potential to produce fantastic horses on the island, and improving training and education. We focused on marketing and sales, equine tourism and recreationally focused initiatives as well as high performance issues. We worked on improving the experience of participants and developing enhanced structures to improve the health and welfare of horses by means of institutional capacity. A lot of the groundwork is done but funding all these recommendations is a big challenge for us. If we can deliver on what we have in our strategy, this sector will definitely realise its potential.