Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Bord na gCon is a commercial State body which was established in 1958 under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and improve and develop the greyhound industry.

The sampling of greyhounds for the detection of prohibited substances is a key element of integrity management at Bord na gCon. Anabolic steroids such as Stanozolol are not authorised for use within the greyhound industry; therefore, Stanozolol is a prohibited substance.

I understand from Bord na gCon that the National Greyhound Laboratory, NGL, has accreditation status from the Irish National Accreditation Board which accredits the NGL to undertake sampling in compliance with international standards. The National Greyhound Laboratory has flexible scope accreditation. This means that it is in a position to validate and add any prohibited substance to its scope of accreditation at any time. It is not the practice for a racing laboratory to list all substances for which it has been accredited.

The National Greyhound Laboratory, including through its relationship with other laboratory services, provides the capacity to detect the anabolic steroid Stanozolol in samples obtained at licensed greyhound racing stadia. Bord na gCon is confident that these laboratory services, complemented by the use of intelligence lead sampling, can detect the unauthorised administration of Stanozolol to greyhounds where this has occurred. Bord na gCon has advised that it is awaiting confirmatory analysis of four samples obtained at licensed stadia to test for the prohibited substance Stanozolol.

I understand Bord na gCon has recently conducted a review of its integrity and regulatory systems under the guidance of Professor Tim Morris with particular emphasis on sampling and analysis for the presence of prohibited substances and medication control issues.

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