Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if any complaints were made to his Department since March 2011 in relation to corporate governance issues in the Irish Greyhound Board; if any concerns were raised with his Department in relation to the enforcement of regulations by the Board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14234/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Bord na gCon is a commercial state body, established in 1958, under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. The Board has wide powers to regulate all aspects of greyhound racing.

The Board of Bord na gCon, comprising of seven members - a Chairman and six ordinary members, is responsible for leading and directing the activities of the organisation. Bord na gCon is required to act in accordance with it’s statutory obligations, the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies and any other directives issued by Government or by my Department. Each year the Chairman of Bord na gCon provides me with a comprehensive report covering a range of governance issues in accordance with the requirements set out in the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies. Bord na gCon is audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General, it also has an Internal Auditor and an Internal Audit Committee. Officials from my Department meet with Bord na gCon bi-annually to consider issues of mutual interest, including corporate governance.

Concerns have been relayed to my Department regarding the matters raised by the Deputy. The concerns raised were principally operational matters within the competence and the responsibility of the Board. Accordingly, where appropriate, officials within my Department referred such concerns on to Bord na gCon for consideration, or, advised the complainant that the matters were proper to Bord na gCon, or, obtained clarification from Bord na gCon and conveyed the response to the complainant.