I am grateful to be given the opportunity to appear before the Committee of Public Accounts to assist with the examination of the 2020 financial statements of Horse Racing Ireland, HRI. I am the chief executive of HRI. I am joined by HRI’s chief financial officer, Mr. Roger Casey, director of racing and strategic projects, Mr. Jason Morris, and head of risk and compliance, Ms Claire Rudd.
As members will be aware, HRI is a commercial semi-State body responsible to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, having been established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001. HRI is responsible for the overall administration, governance, development and promotion of the Irish horse racing industry on an all-island basis. HRI operates a corporate structure that comprises the main body and nine subsidiaries, one of which is dormant. HRI’s functions are set out in legislation. The HRI board comprises a chair and 13 ordinary members who are a mixture of industry and ministerial nominees. HRI’s audit and risk committee is a statutory sub-committee of the board established to assist the board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities. The audit and risk committee has its own charter, which outlines its purpose and key responsibilities. This committee meets at least four times annually to fulfil its duties to the board.
I apologise to the committee for the delay in the submission of HRI’s 2020 financial statements, which was driven by some additional technical clarifications required by the Comptroller and Auditor General in relation to the Curragh. This required both external advice and a full sign-off of the Curragh Racecourse 2020 financial statements in advance of clearing the HRI accounts. HRI’s group financial statements for 2021 will be submitted post approval at HRI’s board meeting on 10 October, subject to Comptroller and Auditor General clearance. We have provided the committee with briefing material in relation to the Curragh Racecourse Limited, but we will be happy to address questions members may have on any other matters related to the 2020 accounts or any other aspects of our finances.
The horse racing and breeding industries are significant across all of Ireland, producing more than €2 billion in total expenditure annually and supporting approximately 29,000 direct and indirect jobs. Supportive Government policy and legislation have put structures in place that have not only protected this vital industry but have allowed Ireland to compete at the highest level on the world stage, while enabling vital and sustainable rural-based employment throughout the country. HRI and the entire horse racing and breeding industries are very grateful to the Oireachtas for its continued support through the horse and greyhound fund. It means that HRI can promote an industry in which new entrants can thrive, and since 2020 we have seen many new faces. It is heartening to see 52 new trainers having their first winner since 2020 as well as hundreds of new racehorse owners every year. New owners and trainers typically mean more horses in training and our industry figures would back that up. Given the labour-intensive nature of the racing industry and the care horses need, that also means many more racing jobs in rural Ireland. This ensures that breeders all over the country can have a vibrant market for their young horses and only a competitive domestic racing environment, underpinned by appropriate prize money, can ensure that those who have invested at sales to prepare, train and improve young horses will see their investment and skills rewarded.
Like many other industries, Covid brought serious challenges to our industry, with racing staged behind closed doors, or with significantly reduced capacities, during 2020 and 2021. However, racecourses weathered the storm supported through Government and HRI schemes and strong media rights income. Together with the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, HRI provided a solution for point-to-point racing in the spring of 2021, allowing it to continue on the racecourse for a period and ensuring that the trade that trickles down to store sales and national hunt breeders continued to flow.
The industry statistics published in August for the first half of 2022 point to a resilient industry. The number of horses in training is up more than 15% on the last comparable year of 2019. This is a key figure when it comes to assessing total rural employment in the industry. In tandem with that, thousands of people are involved in horse ownership in Ireland, be it on their own or, indeed, the many who enjoy a low-cost racing ownership experience through syndicates or racing clubs. Attendances in the first half of 2022 were down 9%. We must view this dip in attendances through the prism of people being slow to attend crowded events post Covid, as well the current cost-of-living crisis, which has impacted every leisure and sporting arena in the world. That said, racing continues to deliver superb sporting occasions showcasing the best of our industry and sport. Despite these headwinds, a strong racing product here in Ireland continues to be consumed in growing numbers on television and on mobile devices, and there remains strong domestic and international confidence in the Irish thoroughbred, with bloodstock sales through public auction up 31% on 2019.
I welcome the appointment of Ms Anne Marie Caulfied as the new CEO designate of the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland. HRI, through its industry education and training department, Equuip, has long supported the funding of addiction services and the setting up of a gambling regulator in Ireland is very welcome. I look forward to working with the authority once it is fully operational.
Away from the racetrack, HRI has a number of strategic priorities, including equine welfare and sustainability. HRI has been instrumental in creating a business environment centred on the pre-eminent Irish-bred horse. The headlines of successes worldwide are underpinned by vigilance around care from people who are in contact with the horses on a daily basis and prioritise their care and welfare. The daily care of horses is the cornerstone of our horse welfare strategy of verifiable high standards of care for our population of horses. Included in these are improved traceability systems, such as the electronic passport issued to the 2021 foal crop and all subsequent crops, the welfare standards checklist published recently and safety nets supported by HRI, including the Treo Eile platform for retired racehorses.
We are very conscious of our responsibility under the Government’s climate action plan and we are very well advanced on a sustainability strategy for the organisation and for the wider breeding and racing industry. Over the past couple of months, we have engaged with our stakeholders and held focus groups with industry organisations and can report a huge sustainability ambition within racing and breeding. Our role is to lead by example as an advocate and champion of sustainability and to help the breeding and racing industry to increase its understanding of our responsibilities in this area, through education, increased awareness and financial supports.
I thank members for the invitation to discuss HRI’s 2020 accounts. We look forward to taking their questions on any other matters concerning the racing and breeding industry in Ireland.
