Results 3,781-3,800 of 7,985 for speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: Will someone get on to asking questions? We need to get going because-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: I thank the witnesses. I want brief answers because I know Deputy Flaherty wants to come in. Mr. Egan referred to 12 officials as authorised officers to inspect yards and unlicensed premises. This is like farmers regulating themselves. Is this not a bad system? I refer to a previous regime where the Department took the lead on inspections, especially some high-profile inspections. Was...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: It has been admitted that 0.25 tonne of Nitrotin came into the country. Was all of it accounted for?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: It is not the problem of the IHRB.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: When authorised officers go to yards, there is obviously a lot of security and all of that. How long does it take them to get in with security and everything? Is there a danger of horses or substances being moved?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: What is the current status of the contract with LGC Laboratories? When is it due to expire?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: The witnesses referred earlier to Dr. Terence Wan. Why will the IHRB not release findings of an expert report prepared by Dr. Wan into a previous laboratory?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: Why is the report not being released?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: If taxpayers' money was used to fund the report, there is an entitlement to have the report released.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: If the report relates to a previously used laboratory, what is the big deal about releasing it?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: Did the IHRB pay for the report?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: If one pays for the report, is one not entitled to publish it?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: Maybe that is the case. I will move on. Are there plans to increase the rate of out-of-competition hair testing? What specific plans are there in that regard? Is it correct that 383 samples were taken in the first six months of 2021? I ask our guests to briefly address that issue.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: The witnesses basically stated that 5,000 samples will be taken in 2021 and one quarter of those samples will be taken on race days. Veterinarians are of the view that steroid use during training can improve performance, so why is the IHRB taking most of the samples on race days rather than trying to take them earlier in light of this problem?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: Is that being changed in the manner I suggested?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: Wishing to do something and doing something are two different things.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: The witnesses have basically stated that Ireland is a world leader in drug sampling. Some 12% of runners were tested in 2019, compared with 15.5% in Britain, 17.5% in France and 31.7% in Japan. Do our guests stand over that claim in the context of those figures for 2019 in other countries?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: As regards our nearest neighbours, the rate is 15.5% in the UK.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: The figures I have were provided by Mark Boylan of the Racing Post. That is what I have read. Does the IHRB intend to increase the rate of testing?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Alleged Issues in the Horse Racing Industry: Discussion (8 Jul 2021)
Michael Fitzmaurice: I have one final question. I want to let in Deputy Flaherty. I noticed that a problem arose last year relating to smaller breeders. The Department was involved, as were authorised agents. When a foal is born, one is supposed to get a book but, mysteriously, these books were heading towards the owner of the stud. Why was that the case?