Results 661-680 of 5,550 for speaker:Martin Ferris

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: I have made the argument. The people who are charged with the responsibility are on the fixtures committee. One would assume they have a hands-on approach and that their recommendations should be binding. People sitting on boards are usually divorced from the reality in many instances. People who sit on boards can, for political or other reasons, use their influence to undermine the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: I move amendment No. 29:In page 12, to delete lines 9 and 10 and substitute the following:"(4) The relevant industry representative bodies should determine the constituencies and method of election of members of the industry services committee.". The Bill reads, "HRI shall determine the constituencies and method of election of members of the industry services committee." Instead of HRI, the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: Yes.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: On amendments Nos. 29 and 30, regarding the industry services committee-----

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: Criteria are set down there whereby the constituencies the various representatives come from, and the five members, are determined by HRI and not by the constituencies themselves. When we look at the likes of jockeys and qualified riders, there are people other than stable staff employed in the horse racing industry. What about trade unions? Is there any avenue for somebody from a trade...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: They decide for themselves.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: The people on this subcommittee will be from the services within the horse racing industry or people associated with the horse racing industry, so they are supportive of this sector. The Minister mentioned jockeys and persons other than stable staff employed in the racing industry. That is not a problem, but the size of that constituency should be determined by the sector itself. If Horse...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: The Bill currently states, "HRI shall determine the constituencies and method of election of members of the industry services committee". If we wanted to find some sort of agreed position, perhaps this could be changed to "HRI shall consult with the various constituencies and agree after consultation the constituencies and how-----"

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: "Consult widely and-----"

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: It should have to agree the constituencies.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: I move amendment No. 30:In page 12, to delete line 39, and in page 13, to delete line 1 and substitute the following:"(4) The relevant industry bodies representative of bookmakers, shall determine the constituencies and method of election of members to the betting committee.". I am moving this amendment formally so that we can come back to it on Report Stage.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: I move amendment No. 31:In page 13, to delete lines 28 to 30 and substitute the following:"(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) the media rights committee shall consist of not more than 5 members appointed by HRI, one of whom shall be the HRI representative of the body known as the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners and may include members who are not members of HRI.". I am proposing...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: I think that is a mistake because racehorse owners are the cornerstone of this country's horse racing industry. It is very important for them to have a member on the board. For that reason, I will be pursuing this amendment.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: While I would like to have faith in every board, the reality is that we have seen in the not too distant past how some boards have operated or failed to operate as they should have. Deputy Penrose outlined in his very articulate way the issues about the contribution of racehorse owners and what they bring to the industry. Without them there would be no industry, let us put it that way. If...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: Who determines whom the board nominates? Does it pick somebody it wants on the board or does it ask the racehorse owners association to nominate somebody? That is why reference is made to a body from the Irish racehorse association, which again refers to determination. It goes back to the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners to determine who represents it, because the amendment would...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: I move amendment No. 42:In page 15, line 26, to delete “upon payment to HRI of the appropriate licence fee, to”. This is down to the fees, licences, funding and so forth being paid to HRI which undermines the racing regulatory body's integrity. For that reason, I ask that part of the first line, "upon payment to HRI of the appropriate fee, to", be deleted and also that the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: The issue is the payment of fees, including licence fees, all going to HRI.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: I move amendment No. 64:In page 20, to delete lines 31 to 33. This concerns the transfer of personal data from HRI to the racing regulatory board and vice versa. I see the Minister's amendment No. 66 and the reference to "data (including personal data) held by it for purposes of enforcing the Rules of Racing" but I am not sure if that covers this point. Can he confirm if this covers the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (8 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: I thank the Minister for his response. Deputies Harrington, Pringle and I are from coastal areas and we have been contacted by very concerned people about the action, particularly off the coast of Donegal, and the factory freezer ships like the Margirisoperating there. The big problem is we are told that the only way to police them properly is by having a control observer on the vessel....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (8 Dec 2015)

Martin Ferris: It is evident that having an observer on board is the most foolproof way to deal with such a situation. It applies to every boat, including factory vessels and the big refrigerated tanks. It is difficult to understand that for five weeks nobody has been able to get on board them. Bad weather will probably blow over in 24 hours, whatever about the swell, but I believe they can be boarded....