Seanad debates

Tuesday, 23 October 2018

Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Committee Stage

 

2:30 pm

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their comments. I will stick to the Greyhound Racing Bill in my contribution. Regarding the amendment in the names of Senators Ruane, Black, Grace O'Sullivan and Higgins, the then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, commissioned Indecon consultants in 2014 to carry out a review of certain matters relating to Bord na gCon. That report made a number of recommendations regarding the board and among those was a recommendation regarding the skill set of the board. The report identified the requirement for a senior legal professional, a marketing expert, a board with a depth of financial expertise in addition to a veterinary expert, and, as a matter of policy and in accordance with the recommendations of Indecon, to ensure there is a veterinary practitioner on the board. This has continued and will continue into the future. I do not believe, however, that it would be appropriate to set down in primary legislation the requirement of a veterinary practitioner on the board as I also believe it would not be good practice to single out veterinary skills when a balance of skills is required.

Regarding Senator Daly's amendment, as I have stated, one of the areas examined by Indecon was the structure of the board. The increase in the board size from six to eight ordinary members was one of the recommendations made by Indecon and this has been included in this section. Indecon recommended a skilled board rather than the representative board proposed in the Senator's amendment. This issue was not identified as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny process, so I do not believe it would be appropriate to set down in primary legislation the specific skills of board which may change over time. Therefore, I do not propose to deviate from the recommendation in these reports.

With regard to Senator Ó Domhnaill's specific reference to the board size, as he will be well aware, I have seen boards where it has been recommended to reduce the size as opposed to increasing it. To have right mix of skill sets, it was considered important to get the right size rather than a bigger or smaller size. Specifically in this case, it was recommended to increase it by two so that a broader range of skill sets could be included. Horse Racing Ireland's board increased in size from 13 to 14 members on the recommendation of a committee to provide for industry sector employees to have a position on that board, as was recommended.

We are trying to get the balance right here. The Public Appointments Service, PAS, process will be undertaken. I reassure the female Members that an effort will certainly be made to get the gender balance as equal as possible. It is a specific ambition but that is not to say that people will be restricted or chosen just on gender. The broad thrust of this section covers the constitution of the board, which is specifically laid out. The PAS process will be used to bring forward the membership recommendations, and those will, in turn, be appointed by the Minister.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.