Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

I will address that point as I go through the points here. We are saying it has the power to prohibit substances. Some substances should be prohibited and that is the end of it. If they are banned and any amount of them are found, it is a problem. We are saying the board can control substances by reference, class or otherwise that may be given to a greyhound. If a substance is controlled, one is saying that the substance might be useable in certain circumstances. For example, there are substances that have the potential to impact on the performance of a dog which might be legitimately used for therapeutic purposes. I am not sure if any trainer has never medicated a dog, and they might have medicated the dog for perfectly reasonable reasons.

The next provision (c) addresses the exact point the Deputy makes. It empowers the board to set limits for residues for controlled substances. What does that mean? Effectively, it means a limit will be set for the residues. That addresses the Deputy's point. In other words, if a test is conducted and a level above the limit is found, that is an adverse finding. If something below the limit is found, it is not an adverse finding. I spoke earlier about how technical this area is, and determining what those levels should be is not an arbitrary matter. One needs people who know what they are talking about. The reason the board has established the scientific advisory committee is so it can advise the board exactly on these issues. When one applies penalties in these areas, they can be significant and the possibility of ending up in court over the application of a sanction is not insignificant, so it is important that when one sets a limit for a residue it has some scientific rigour behind it. That addresses the point the Deputy made.

The next matter is about setting periods following the administration of a substance during which a greyhound may not participate in greyhound racing or trials. The same thing happens in the food sector, where there are withdrawal periods. If one medicates an animal, it cannot be slaughtered within a certain time of medication. The same provision is here. It provides for the publication of the substances that are prohibited or controlled. Obviously people can only apply these rules or adhere to them if there is adequate publication of the rules. It sets out procedures for recording substances given to a greyhound. Those procedures would be applied by the keeper or trainer of a greyhound. In other words, they might have to keep a medicines record. It sets out procedures for notifying when a greyhound has been treated by a controlled substance. One of the questions in my head is about who they would notify. I will have to reflect on that.