Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

I thank the Chairman I am pleased to be here to present the heads of the greyhound industry Bill 2017 to the Committee. The draft general scheme of the greyhound industry Bill 2017 was approved by Government at its meeting on 7 March. In accordance with procedure, the draft general scheme has been published on the Department's website and forwarded to this committee for pre-legislative scrutiny.

Following the conclusion of this phase of the legislative procedure, the general scheme will be sent to the Office of the Attorney General for the drafting of a Bill. Consideration of the final drafting will be informed by the deliberations of this committee during the pre-legislative phase. It should be noted that the Office of the Attorney General has already highlighted a small number of drafting amendments that we intend to address at the drafting stage. I will point these out as we work our way through the heads of the Bill.

Bord na gCon is a commercial State body established by the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. It is responsible for the control, promotion and operation of greyhound racing. Its activities include the licensing of greyhound tracks and their officials, the authorisation of bookmakers to conduct business at tracks, the operation of tote betting at greyhound tracks, the regulation of public sales of greyhounds, the making of grants for prize money and to improve amenities at tracks.  Bord na gCon licences a total of 17 greyhound tracks and owns and operates a number itself.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine commissioned Indecon to prepare a report into certain matters in relation to Bord na gCon, which was published in July 2014. As part of that review a wide-ranging stakeholder consultation process was undertaken with 17 submissions being received from a broad range of respondents. That report made a number of recommendations in relation to governance, regulation and financial matters, and has broadly been accepted as a roadmap for the development of the sector. A number of those recommendations require modifications to the existing statutory framework. Recommendations were also made in a 2016 report of this Committee, and in the 2015 Bord na gCon commissioned report on anti-doping and medication control, known as the Morris report. Elements in these reports are also taken into account in the draft legislation. The Department has also spoken directly with Bord na gCon, the Irish Coursing Club and the Bord na gCon stakeholder forum on the issues being address in this draft general scheme.

In broad terms the draft heads are intended to strengthen governance, improve regulation in the sport and make it more transparent, and to give Greyhound Racing Ireland a very clear role in relation to the welfare of greyhounds. I will provide greater detail as we go through the document head by head but I will now give a broad overview of some of the key provisions. We propose to rename of Bord na gCon. We believe the time is right, with the promulgation of this new Bill, for a new start for the organisation. We also intend to improve governance. The heads of the Bill provide for an increase in the size of the board to a maximum of eight, with fixed terms for the chairman and ordinary members and a maximum number of terms for each. The increase in the size of the board will facilitate the appointment of individuals with specific expertise as necessary.

The heads of the Bill also lay down the functions of the board around the administration, governance, regulation, development and promotion of the greyhound industry and there are statutory provisions for the delegation of functions to a chief executive.  Members of the board, the control committee and the appeals committee are subject to a statutory maximum of two terms.

The board is being provided with the statutory powers to introduce a comprehensive set of anti-doping rules, including the ability to make regulations prohibiting certain substances and setting limits for other substances. The matters that Bord na gCon can investigate are being extended and include matters in relation to welfare of greyhounds. The powers of authorised officers are being amplified for a variety of purposes including investigating the use of prohibited substances. In addition, the powers of entry and inspection of authorised officers are being greatly strengthened.

With regard to disciplinary processes and structures the legislation proposes that the control committee should be provided for in primary legislation, with its functions and independence clearly outlined. Its members will be appointed by the Minister, rather than the board, and will include at least one veterinary practitioner and a practising solicitor or barrister. Decisions in relation to breaches of the racing code will be transferred from the board to the control committee, and the legislation also provides for a statutory appeals committee which will also be independent in the exercise of its functions.

The jurisdiction of both the control committee and appeals committee extends to people participating in the sport of greyhound racing, including the training, sale or breeding of greyhounds for racing, who are subject to the racing code. The heads also provide for the publication of the decisions of the control committee and the appeals committee.

On sanctions, the legislation provides for administrative, rather than criminal, sanctions for breaches of the racing code and increases financial sanctions to a maximum of €5,000. Currently the legislation provides that dogs may be disqualified from racing and trials. The Bill extends the scope of disqualification orders to transfer of ownership, sale and use in breeding activities. The Bill also provides that exclusion orders issued by the control committee, which prohibit persons from attending race tracks or public sales, will have like effect at coursing meetings, and similarly that exclusion orders issued by the Irish Coursing Club will apply equally at greyhound racing meetings.

An amendment is being proposed to the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011 to allow the board to make regulations to ensure that bitches have only eight litters certified for racing, regardless of where the litter is born. This is to ensure that the current legislation is not being circumvented by sending bitches abroad to have additional litters where eight are registered in this jurisdiction. These are some of the key elements of the Bill.

This sector needs a strong governance and regulatory framework. I look forward to working with the committee to ensure that that objective is met as we work our way through the heads this evening. We have circulated a highlighted version of the Bill. In part, it is to assist me and also members. It is not intended in any way to deflect discussion from any part of the Bill. They are simply matters I believed might be worth highlighting. I recognise we are at the start of a process here. What we end up with in this Bill might be somewhat different from what we present here tonight. We are open to that possibility, subject to obtaining legal advice and approval from the Government.