Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 January 2017
548. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will initiate an external independent audit of racecourse attendance in order to verify the claims being made by Horse Racing Ireland in that regard. [2962/17]
View answerHorse Racing Ireland (HRI) is a commercial state body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, 2001, and is responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry.
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General audits the turnover of HRI subsidiaries which is supported by race meeting attendance data.
Other racecourses, which are independent companies, provide their data to HRI to allow the preparation of attendance figures from a national perspective.
I have no plans to establish a separate audit mechanism for the verification of race attendance figures.
