Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1663. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he expects the sporting horse non-thoroughbred industry to continue to prosper here into the future notwithstanding ongoing geopolitical changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28430/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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As part of my Department’s strategy to assist the development of the sector, it has commissioned a consultancy report on the structures of Horse Sport Ireland with a view to ensure that the industry has the optimum organisation to avail of development opportunities and meet challenges as they arise.    

I assume the Deputy is referring to the potential impact of Brexit on the Sport Horse Sector. In this regard, my Department is playing its part in  efforts to ensure that the an agreement with the UK upon its exit from the European Union does not disrupt trade or regulation in the equine sector. In this context my Department has been in regular contact over the last year with counterpart administrations in London and Belfast and as recently as the 9th of June last, hosted an all-Ireland sectorial dialogue which included the leading representatives of the sport horse industry on the island of Ireland.