Mr. Denis Duggan:

I thank the Chair and members of committee for the invitation to discuss the welfare and treatment of horses and their traceability today. I am the chief executive of Horse Sport Ireland. I am joined by my colleague Dr. Sonja Egan, head of breeding, innovation and development. Like colleagues in the Department and in HRI, Horse Sport Ireland unequivocally condemns the practices surrounding the abhorrent treatment of horses outlined in the recent "RTÉ Investigates" documentary. The horse abuse in welfare and traceability that we witnessed has no place in our industry or our sports. There is also no place in society for the mistreatment of horses, or any other animals, nor is there a place for the use of animals for any criminal intent. Both the horrific welfare abuses witnessed in the documentary, and the blatant forging of microchips to match passports are grotesque abuses of horses and food chain integrity. Horse Sport Ireland welcomes the full investigation by the Department of agriculture, An Garda and other relevant authorities, into the troubling issues highlighted by the programme. We have offered our full assistance to any such investigation.

It may be helpful to the committee to understand the role of Horse Sport Ireland within the equine sector. HSI was established in 2008 by the then Minister for sport, John O’Donoghue and then Minister for agriculture, Joe Walsh. Our role is to manage, develop, and promote horse sports and the breeding of sport horses in Ireland, which we do in three ways. First, we are the national governing body for equestrian sport and oversee various equestrian disciplines, including show jumping, eventing, dressage, and para-equestrian sport. We also represent the interests of Irish equestrian sports at international level as the recognised national federation member of our governing body, the International Equestrian Federation, FEI. We are also recognised by Sport Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland. Second, we are the operator of five studbooks. The Irish sport horse and Irish draught are two of the best known, along with three smaller studbooks. The Irish sport horse is renowned globally as a top-quality sport horse and is specifically highly sought after in eventing and jumping. In its role as a studbook operator, HSI works with breeders to improve breeding practices and is the passport issuing authority for those studbooks. As a passport issuing organisation, PIO, we provide passports for those studbooks, along with a number of other Irish-based organisations and private companies, including three in the North. Third, we are the provider of national equine breeding services. HSI operates that programme under to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. We have been operating it since the inception of HSI in 2008 and was recently tendered by the Department in 2022. HSI administers almost 30 different breeding schemes to encourage breed improvement and genetic gain across all sport horse studbooks.

Overall, HSI plays a crucial role in the development and success of equestrian sports in Ireland, supporting both athletes and the equine industry. HSI receives just less than €6.5 million in annual funding from the State comprising approximately €1.8 million from Sport Ireland, €4.5 million from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and a further €1.5million in commercially-generated income. With all of those roles, it is crucial for committee members to understand that at no stage does Horse Sport Ireland perform a regulatory role for the sport horse sector. In the context of equine welfare and traceability, our main role is as one of seven passport issuing organisations across the sector. As mentioned, we are the PIO for five studbooks, the largest being the Irish sport horse studbook, which is second in size nationally to Weatherby’s general studbook for thoroughbreds, as Ms Eade mentioned. Across the studbooks we operate, HSI registers in total approximately 8,000 equines annually, which we estimate to be roughly one-third of all horses registered in the State.

Aside from studbook documentation, horses can be issued with what are known as identity documents. An identity document is a non-studbook document, which can be issued by HSI or Leisure Horse Ireland in the Republic. An identity document, also known as breeding and production books, may or may not have breeding recorded where DNA testing is not mandatory for these documents. The passports issued by HSI and other passport issuing organisations adhere to EU animal health laws and are overseen by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The security features in those passports include the marking charts completed by veterinarians, security paper, holographic identification on certain pages, embossed stamps and seals, and security rivets, which cannot be removed, and relevant veterinary and studbook stamps. These features combined make a passport that has been tampered with very easy to identify. We have brought along sample passports for any committee member who wishes to see at first hand the security features in them.

At the start of the foal registration process, all studbook passports require a hair sample to be taken for DNA verification, and a marking chart is also completed. A registered veterinarian is required to take the hair sample and sign the completed marking chart. The veterinarian is responsible for ensuring that he or she takes the correct hair sample and identifies any markings on the horse by completing the marking chart, which ultimately forms part of the horse’s passport for life.

There has been significant commentary in the two weeks since the RTÉ documentary about the need for digital passports. We are very pleased to inform the committee that Horse Sport Ireland is in the final stages of testing and rolling out a new e-passports system, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. In time, a digital e-passport could contain additional security features, such as annual photographs of the horse, as well as the usual features, such as marking charts. The use of photographs is something that World Horse Welfare, the international equine welfare charity, has advocated.

In the RTÉ documentary, we witnessed fraudulent behaviour by people who sought creative ways to circumvent the system. It was reported by RTÉ that the individuals purchased microchips with numbers to match pre-existing passports. In effect, tampering with the microchip and the horse was easier than tampering with the physical passport. We also saw in the RTÉ documentary that one individual purchased studbook passports from the Northern Irish Horse Board. To do this, a marking chart is required to be completed by a veterinarian and submitted to that board so it can issue the passport.

I wish to return to the fact that Horse Sport Ireland is not the regulator. To give a flavour of some of the movements at international level, our international governing body, the International Equestrian Federation, FEI, is considering a very strong and robust response to general issues with equine welfare that have emerged in recent years. In the main, these issues have been to do with social licence and training methods that may be substandard. In response to concerns regarding social licence, the FEI established an ethics and welfare commission in 2022. It reported at the end of 2023. The FEI and member national federations such as Horse Sport Ireland have formal roles during competition; however, the FEI is taking action for the other 23 hours of the day outside competition.

The IHRB recently presented the licensing, regulatory and welfare frameworks overseen by IHRB in racing to the FEI. That seems to be the direction of travel the FEI is pursuing. The United States Equestrian Federation has taken a lead in recent days by updating its own national rules to include a greater focus on equine welfare and greater power for it to inspect yards, trainers and coaches outside competition. In an Irish setting, we do not have the resources, and therefore additional resources would be required to ensure that an adequately resourced welfare and traceability regime is in place in the sport horse sector. In the near future, we will be required by our international bodies to have such a regime in place. We have neither the resources, the powers nor the remit to license yards, undertake inspections or enforce regulations.

The offensive practices we saw in the RTÉ programme do not reflect the day-to-day reality of the equine sector in Ireland. It is important for committee members to understand that the vast majority of equine breeders, owners, trainers and athletes place equine welfare at the very heart of what they do every day. Many actually take better care of their horses than of themselves. It is essential that any allegations of illegal activity be fully investigated by the appropriate authorities. If such allegations are proven, the individuals in question should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I thank the committee again for the invitation to appear before it. My colleague Dr. Sonja Egan and I will be happy to address any questions members may have.