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

I thank all the Senators for their contributions. Some of the matters raised are internal Bord na gCon day-to-day issues, but the debate has been worthwhile.

The first thing I did when I got home from Dublin after my appointment last June was to drive down the road to Golden, near to where I live, to visit a man, Mr. Pat Dalton, who is known by everyone in the greyhound industry. He is one of the world's leading experts on greyhounds, breeding, ownership, etc. He has places in the United States and another place in Golden, County Tipperary. I spent two hours with him on that occasion. I met Bord na gCon as a group in Limerick on another day and I also met the board members individually. After that, I visited greyhound tracks throughout the country. I know a bit about dog racing because, like Senator Landy, I have been involved in syndicates that owned weak dogs.

I met many people on my visits throughout the country and soon realised that the industry was challenging and needed to be examined. I gave it some thought and decided that the best thing to do, in consultation with the senior Minister, Deputy Coveney, the officials in my Department and Mr. Phil Meaney, the chairman of Bord na gCon, was to get somebody independent to conduct a review of the entire industry, from head to toe. We set about an independent process by appointing a group using the public procurement mechanism. The post was advertised and the guidelines were provided which I can read if Senators so wish. The terms of reference were advertised and, through public procurement, Indecon won the opportunity to conduct the process. I have spoken to the company and can confirm it is in the middle of carrying out its review. Many of the concerns that have been raised in this debate, particularly the fears raised by Senator Mary Ann O'Brien, some of which I share, will be raised in the review. However, I want to give the review time. Indecon is only on the job since Christmas but we should have its report in eight weeks time.

When I was asked to attend this debate, I was very conscious that some of the issues likely to be raised would be dealt with in the report. One does not buy a dog yet do the barking oneself. The company comprises highly efficient people. When it gives me the review, I will return to the Seanad to discuss its contents. I hope that many of the issues raised in this debate will be dealt with in the report.

The issue of appointments is quite interesting and important. It is one of the things I can do. I can appoint people to the board of Bord na gCon, be it political or otherwise. After meeting the board in Limerick, I met each of its members individually. On that occasion I met a man called Brendan Moore who was appointed by my predecessor, the late Deputy Shane McEntee. He had written to me and told me that day that he was not fit to be on the board. I can remember asking someone, if he was not fit to be on the board, what he would do instead. I was not going to force him out and waited six months. He did not attended a meeting in those six months, and he is the man Senators quoted in the debate. He did not attend a board meeting and when some moves were being made within the Department, because I was concerned that the position was in effect being left vacant, and we thought about moving him, we received a letter of resignation from Mr. Moore prior to Christmas. Within days I made an appointment. I did not, for the first time in the long history of Bord na gCon or any other board, go to any political party but looked for one person, and that person was a top class accountant. After a lot of work and effort I was able to offer the position to Ms Riona Heffernan who is a financial director of the C&C Group in Ireland. When one makes such an appointment, nobody can question it and that is the road that I will continue to travel. In the next appointments I will make, I will examine each and every one because competence to me is number one. This is because such people have a duty as board members because the board receives taxpayers' money and public moneys are taken in.

The fall in attendance rates and in the tote at race tracks is due to people not having as much money in their pockets anymore, as pointed out by Senator Landy. It is a fact of life that nobody has as much money as they used to have. There is a need to create other ways to attract people to our tracks and it is not just a problem for Bord na gCon. Last week I went horseracing in Portlaoise and its organisation is faced with the same issue - attracting people to its race tracks.

There are a lot of issues to be addressed and people on the board have a lot of responsibilities. There are dedicated people on boards, and on this board in particular. The board of Bord na gCon comprises some very competent people. It is the easiest thing in the world to claim they are political appointments. There are quite good people on the board but these are difficult times. Bord na gCon has many assets and the company is not broke. Obviously it does not make as much money as it did due to times we live in. Such matters must be dealt with and that is why the board must comprise strong people. A strong board and an upcoming report will help it to change direction and will put the company in a better place to deal with the current economic reality.

Other issues were raised, including about the Limerick stadium, which issues were bandied about left, right and centre. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was not the Department responsible at the time the stadium was built. It was under the remit of the Minister for the Arts, Sport and Tourism, led by our former colleague, Deputy John O'Donoghue. He was the Minister responsible for the project at the time. The matter is being examined by the Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General and a review has been undertaken. The Senators are right to say that if taxpayers' money is being wasted, the matter should be dealt with.

It is quite easy for Senators to throw muck and to try to get it to stick to me, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, or some similar person. The reality is that a lot of what was said and a lot of the worry started before the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine became involved. People should be aware of that.

With regard to the position of the new chief executive, Mr. Adrian Nealon has moved on to a position in another organisation.

He was offered the position for another two years but he did not accept that because Government policy is to cut the salaries of chief executive officers and that was provided for in the contract that was offered. He has another job now. However, the Public Appointments Service, PAS, in co-operation with the board will engage in an independent appointment process similar to that used for the appointments of county managers, HSE directors or Secretaries General of Departments. An independent process is being put in place through the statutory body, the PAS. Hopefully, next week the board will place an advertisement in newspapers and on its website. The board has been the subject of a great deal of bad publicity, which is not good for the industry. We should be more careful about the message we send. I want a good chief executive officer who will recognise the major opportunities for the future.

The issue of doping procedures was raised. There are procedures in place and Indecon is examining them in its report. I ask the Senators for an opportunity to return to the House when the report has been published and we will deal with the future of the industry. The large outstanding debts and so on will also be dealt with in the report and we can have a more substantive debate then. Decisions are made and sanctions are imposed by the central control appeals committee regarding infringements. Results of positive tests are published in the Sporting Press. They are not published until after the deadline for an appeal has passed or until an appeal has been heard and the findings issued. The control committee sits periodically - approximately once a month. Some cases are complex and take a considerable time to process. The committee has 14 days from the date of a hearing to notify an individual of its findings. He or she has then one month from notification. A new committee was appointed in August 2013.

With regard to meeting people and consultations, I would like a representative body to be established by owners if they want to meet me. However, it cannot be one group of owners in one part of the country and another group elsewhere. I have arranged a meeting with the trainers association and I will meet a representative group for owners. It is unfair to say I have not met owners because I met some in Ballykisteen Hotel in Tipperary at the end of October.

I am determined to make the industry work. We are using taxpayers' money and I will make sure the industry is in a better place in the future.