Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 20 November 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Irish Sport Horse Industry: Discussion

3:30 pm

Photo of Marcella Corcoran KennedyMarcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I thank the witnesses for appearing before the committee. They have brought us some very interesting information and provided more detail than we would normally have. I was brought up in the little village of Belmont in west Offaly. There was horse breeding going on there so I was aware of the potential of the sector. Darragh Kenny is from that area and is doing very well internationally.

I will stick with the local. The entrepreneur, Emma-Rose Conroy, founded Euro Stallions and it is fantastic to see all this happening. The information is disparate and making it hard to focus and see how much information is there. The Irish Sport Horse Alliance has done a great service in producing its report. Has the alliance sent this report to Horse Sport Ireland?

Undoubtedly, such a sharing of information would be of assistance to Horse Sport Ireland.

Who is the driver of investment in additional facilities? The various venues at which showjumping takes place have been mentioned. Who would spend the funding were it provided?

Why is there such a disparity in the funding for the Irish Sport Horse Alliance, Horse Racing Ireland, Bord na gCon and Horse Sport Ireland, particularly given the pride that we all take in their successes? In terms of developing elite athletes, what relationship do our guests have with Olympic Ireland? Is there a special funding stream to help someone who has been identified as a potential Olympic gold medal winner to reach his or her potential?

Mr. Broderick mentioned the facilities in Belgium. If he had a magic wand, what would he create here? Would it be a single amazing facility or several facilities throughout the country?