John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

It is my intention that women should be represented on the board of Bord na gCon. A woman from the Department was on the board until recently but unfortunately she resigned. I agree with the Deputy that it is important there is female representation on the board.

With regard to accepting Deputy Deenihan's Bill, I will not pre-empt the contents or the recommendations of the Dalton report. As I indicated earlier, arising from the report there will be a necessity for legislation. Legislation governing the greyhound industry dates back to the Greyhound Industry Act 1958. It is archaic and needs to be changed. For example, a person can be appointed for numerous terms to the board. The chairman of the board does not have a fixed term. That is not the case with any other State agency. People will accept there is a need for the legislation to be changed. It is an open secret that there will have to be change.

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