Results 521-540 of 1,995 for speaker:Joe Flaherty

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: HSI is not hitting those targets at present.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: In the run up to Christmas, can Dr. Egan give any assurance to those breeders who brought their foals to Goresbridge and Cavan and who effectively sold them? When will the passports issue for those foals?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I understand, but I am asking more generally for all the foals that HSI has applications for at present. When does Dr. Egan envisage those being cleared?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: Will that clear all of this year's foals?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: Would about five and a half thousand foals be a fair estimate?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I will stay with the passport issue. Historically, we had the green book and the blue book and now we have what is colloquially known as the white book. Because of the delays in the passport, many breeders are opting for the white book, which excludes a lot of the breeding history. This is regrettable at a time when we are trying to emphasise the importance of Irish breeding and Irish...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I want to come back to the composition of the board. We have heard from all the affiliates and we have spoken to many people across the industry. It is fair to say that nobody within the industry is happy with the proposed composition off the board. Notwithstanding what Mr. Duggan said about discussions with the affiliates, is HSI going to persist with its plans for the board or will it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: What I have gleaned here is that the only issues with the old system of the advisory council are gender balance and diversity. Is that the case?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: They are the two issues Mr. Dowling mentioned.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: We need gender balance and diversity. Mr. Dowling's key point was that they must bring experience in the equine sector to it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: There may be an argument that one could bring in experts in accounting and law who may not necessarily have expertise in equine. I do not think we would be that far removed from the old advisory council system if the affiliate bodies were able to come back and comply in terms of gender and diversity, as we have seen with the FAI. Would that be fair to say?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: But the industry does not like that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: In fairness, you serve the industry.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I have just under two minutes left. There is one point I would like to address with Mr. Duggan in relation to the recent appointment of Bernard Jackman to a role in Horse Sport Ireland. Was that discussed with the affiliates before the appointment? Was it advertised? Who specifically identified the need for this role? Did it come from the affiliates? Where did this role come from? This...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I have one last question. As was said, he will be dealing with the affiliates in the run-up to the Olympics and it is astonishing that HSI did not discuss this with the affiliates, tell them it was going to make this appointment, give them an outline of the job specification and get some input from them. Surely, it would have thought that would have been a prudent approach.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I will go. I might have time to get to the vote.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: No. I will pair with you. Are you paired with somebody?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: We will have the Cathaoirleach out for his dinner shortly. I appreciate his patience and understanding. I have a couple of things to finish off with. Finance was mentioned briefly. Regarding Showjumping Ireland, in the witnesses' presentation, it is down as owing €100,000. Showjumping Ireland would say there is no discussion on that. The high performance committee has not met...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: Very good. Regarding HSI’s board, roughly how many times has it met since the last time the HSI was before this committee? Has the HSI board had formal meetings?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Joe Flaherty: The board has met three times. On funding and, in particular, for young riders competing at championship events, aside from the contribution HSI would make towards show entry and show fees, does it make any other financial contribution to those athletes?