Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to address amendments Nos. 2 to 4, inclusive, together. Indecon consultants were commissioned in 2014 by the then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, to carry out a review of certain matters relating to Bord na gCon. At the time Bord na gCon had debts amounting to €23 million, largely due to its investment in Limerick Stadium. This debt burden has hindered the development of the industry.

One of the aspects the report examined was the constitution of Bord na gCon. The Indecon report was critical of the skillset of the board and there was explicit criticism of the board's role in the Limerick stadium development and its governance. The report identified a number of skills gaps in the make-up of the board. Principal among these was the need for a depth of financial expertise, with a requirement for more than one board member with financial qualifications and senior professional experience. There was an explicit criticism that the lack of skills was a contributory factor in the decision to develop Limerick stadium without proper capital appraisal and cost-benefit analysis. Indecon stated: "Based on the analysis and documentation available to Indecon it is hard to conclude anything other than the fact that there was inadequate appraisal of the Limerick capital investment."

The report also identified the requirement for a senior legal professional, a marketing expert and a veterinary expert on the board. I brought forward a Report Stage amendment in the Seanad setting down a requirement for veterinary expertise on the board and allocated one or more places on the board to persons with detailed industry knowledge. I concluded that a requirement for at least one veterinarian was more than justified in view of the animal welfare and integrity role of the board. The latter requirement for one of the members to have detailed knowledge of the industry will, I believe, allow for some flexibility while maintaining the balance in favour of a skilled board.

I draw the attention of the Deputies to the Companies Act 2014, which for the first time codifies directors' duties, drawing together both existing statutory rules and various common law duties developed by the courts. The Companies Act places a significant burden of responsibility on the board members of rásaíocht con Éireann as directors of that company. The Act introduces, for the first time in Irish law, a list of principal fiduciary duties of the directors of an Irish company. That list of fiduciary duties includes, among others, a requirement to act in good faith and in the interests of the company and to avoid conflicts of interest.

The Indecon report also recommended a requirement for the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by board members. Section 12 of the Bill sets out in detail the responsibilities of board members in this regard. Subsection 1 states that where there is a potential conflict the board members shall neither influence or seek to influence a decision relating to the matter, that they should take no part in any consideration of that matter, that they should withdraw from the meeting while the matter is being discussed and that they should not vote or otherwise act in relation to the matter. This board is responsible for regulating the industry and will be responsible for drafting regulations to give effect to provisions set out in this Bill. It would therefore be inappropriate for the board to be made up of representatives to whom those regulations will apply.

In view of the recent financial difficulties Bord na gCon has experienced, I believe the board must change its approach in order to avoid any danger that the mistakes of the past will be repeated. A skilled board is required to achieve this aim. Appointments to the board will be carried out through the Public Appointments Service, PAS, process, and it is of course open to any individual with the requisite skills or knowledge of the industry to put himself or herself forward for consideration.

In 2015, when I was chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, we undertook an examination of the greyhound racing sector in anticipation of the Department commencing work on a new greyhound industry Bill. The committee heard oral submissions on 20 October 2015 from the then Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Tom Hayes, Bord na gCon and from the Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation. In addition to these submissions, the committee also received written submissions from five other groupings. The aim of the committee was to publish a report to provide a brief and succinct overview of the industry in Ireland, to detail the main points raised by stakeholders and to identify recommendations arising from its overall examination of the topic. The committee published its report in January 2016. One of the key recommendations coming out of the report was that Bord na gCon should establish a stakeholder consultative forum. Acting on that recommendation, Bord na gCon established the national greyhound consultative forum, which held its first meeting in March 2016. To date eight meetings have been held. The invitees represent a broad cross-section of the industry, including representatives of owners and breeders, stud keepers, trainers, private tracks and other groups. Representatives of private tracks have been invited since its inception. Members of both the board and the executive of Bord na gCon attend each meeting and departmental officials attend at least one meeting each year. I attended in November 2016 and found the meeting very informative.

Bord na gCon believes these meetings are a useful vehicle for engaging with the wider industry and I fully support that view. I believe the national greyhound consultative forum is the appropriate mechanism for representatives of the private tracks to air their views on matters affecting them. For all of those reasons, and in particular the recommendations in the Indecon report, I am afraid I cannot accept these amendments.

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