Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 October 2017
70. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which he plans to deal with the cases of illegal doping of dogs, particularly greyhounds; and his plans to apply transparency on doping in the greyhound industry, for example, publishing the details of OOC tests and supporting unannounced visits. [41647/17]
View answerBord na gCon has informed me that it has carried out an extensive review of procedures for regulatory control with many new standard operating procedures either finalised or close to finalisation. New secondary legislation is now in place with the result that any adverse analytical finding from a greyhound tested for prohibited substances after 1 October 2015 will be published and the greyhound immediately banned from racing until a further test is undertaken which yields negative results. In addition, the findings of all new cases initiated after 1 October 2015 and coming before the Control Committee and the Control Appeals Committee which, adjudicate on any possible breaches of regulation, will be published as will the reasons for their decision.
A Scientific Committee on Doping and Medication Control has been established. Its task will be to advise Bord na gCon on an ongoing basis on scientific matters relating to doping and medication control in greyhounds. In particular, it will review the current list of substances which are prohibited or controlled and, where applicable, their associated thresholds or limits, and it will advise Bord na gCon on any changes considered necessary from a scientific point of view.
Also an intelligence lead testing regime has been developed targeting its resources at the areas of greatest risk. Targeted testing has included testing in competition, at trials and also at greyhound sales. Bord na gCon has confirmed that it has also adopted an inter-agency cooperation strategy in its anti-doping and medication control policy, insofar as legislation permits, to ensure intelligence-led mechanisms with other enforcement agencies are in place to police this area of risk for the industry whilst making the best use of the limited resources available.
I intend to introduce a new Greyhound Industry Bill in the autumn which addresses the Governance of Bord na gCon, strengthens regulatory controls in the Industry, modernises sanctions and improves integrity with a view to building a reputation for exceptional regulation in the sector.
The draft General Scheme of the Bill has already progressed through the pre-legislative scrutiny phase and a memorandum will go to Government in the coming weeks requesting approval to publish the updated General Scheme and to submit it to the OPC for drafting.
