Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 November 2017
46. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the continuing absence of proper drug testing protocols in the horse racing industry; and the measures he plans to introduce to rectify these failures. [46929/17]
View answerI am beginning to wonder whether the Minister does not want to answer my question. Against the backdrop of the revelations of drugs being used in the greyhound industry, what are his thoughts on the continuing absence of proper drug testing protocols in the horse racing industry? Is he concerned about this deficit and what does he intend to do about it? The position is in sharp contrast to the way in which humans involved in sports are tested. As I stated, the question is highly pertinent given scandals in the greyhound industry.
In this momentous week for the Irish racing industry, with Irish horses securing first, second and third places in the Melbourne Cup, I am sure the Deputy will join me in recognising this achievement, which is a significant acknowledgement of Irish global leadership in equine matters.
Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, is a commercial State body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001. It is responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry. The racing regulatory body - the Irish Turf Club - is a private body charged under legislation with responsibility for the integrity and the reputation of Irish racing in Ireland and internationally.
Horse Racing Ireland has informed me that there are proper anti-doping protocols in place and all Irish horses are tested to the required international standards. HRI confirmed that all thoroughbred horses, once returned in training, are subject to random, unannounced testing by the Turf club at any time. Winners of every race run in Ireland are tested. All samples are tested to the standards required by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, IFHA. Samples are tested both at the authorised Irish laboratory and accredited international laboratories.
HRI's medium-term aspiration is to develop an Irish laboratory to the highest international standard possible, that is, an IFHA reference laboratory, of which there are currently only four or five in the world. This will require significant investment and HRI has committed to this expenditure in its strategic plan for the coming years.
The board of HRI, in conjunction with the Turf Club, established a 16-member industry-wide anti-doping task force, which includes representatives of all sections of the racing and breeding industries, including HRI, the Turf Club, the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners, the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association, the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association, Weatherbys Ireland and the Irish sales companies. In February 2016, HRI published a report by the Irish thoroughbred industry anti-doping task force, setting out recommendations to ensure the drug testing regime for Ireland's racing and breeding sectors operates to the highest international standards. The organisations represented on the task force are committed to ensuring the drug testing regime in the Irish racing and breeding sectors is one that can meet current and future challenges. The organisations the task force represents strongly support a robust anti-doping strategy in Irish racing and breeding.
The task force is being reconvened to finalise the steps being taken to extend testing to the breeding industry, an area which does not fall under the Turf Club's current direct jurisdiction. Considerable progress has been made on the key principles of a testing regime which will now be applied to the pre-racing segments of the industry, including the breeding sector and the sales. Elective testing already takes place at blood stock sales in Ireland and no positive tests for anabolic steroids or substances prohibited at all times have been recorded. More than 1,500 samples are taken each year.
I remind the Minister that Ireland's so-called global leadership in equine matters will be severely challenged unless we address the use of drugs and employment rights - or lack thereof - in the horse racing industry.
Contrary to the Minister's assertion, many of the policies are heavy on spin and fairly slight on substance. Unlike human sporting activities where athletes can be selected for testing at any time or any place, drug testing protocols in horse racing are not random in many instances. If the horse is not at a licensed race course or the trainer's yard, in other words, back on the owner's premises, the regulatory authority here, the Turf Club, must give the owner five working days' notice, not including Saturday or Sunday, of its intention to test the horse. In other words, a race horse that could be full to the brim of performance enhancing drugs would have the whole week to be detoxed before an examination. I refer to regulation No. 7 of the rules of racing. That is a fact. It is there in the Department's own rules that they have to give the owner that notice.
The Deputy appears to emphatically refuse to acknowledge that our testing regime is compliant with international best standards. In fact, what HRI and the Turf Club have been involved with is to step ahead of the minimum international requirement of the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities, which we meet, and put in place a best-in-class system to deal with horses that are outside of training. That, in fairness, is the objective of the task force that was convened - it is representative of all of the stakeholders in the industry - which would build on the commitment that the industry has in terms of investment in new laboratory facilities to become an international reference laboratory in such matters. The direction of travel, in fact, is quite positive. There is, as the Deputy references, a cohort outside of training where there are jurisdictional issues in terms of access but one should bear in mind we meet the highest and required international standards, and what this task force is attempting to do is to take us ahead of the international standard and to give us a reach in respect of all horses.
The Minister confirmed what I was saying was accurate. The five days' notice system applies and is outlined in regulation-----
But the Deputy-----
The Minister can come back in a moment.
The Minister can come back.
I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
I heard what the Minister said regarding the different categories but the point I make is a valid one. Not only that, if the owner does not make the horse available for testing and fails to furnish the information within five days, it is at the discretion of the stewards of the governing body to deem that a missed test. What is the penalty for a missed test? They may be referred to the referrals committee which may or may not impose sanctions. That is an incredibly loose criterion. Can the Minister tell me the number of cases and what is the penalty for a missed test? What are the referrals? What have been the consequences for those who failed to produce given the latitude that is given to them in a different time? In his first reply, the Minister stated that we are the best in the world and then he is saying that we are only the same as everybody else and it is not good enough.
I stated our current testing regime is equivalent with that of the rest of the world and meets the standard required of us internationally. The object of the task force that was convened was to deal with the outstanding issues. It would be nice to have an acknowledgement that here was the industry taking a leadership role in stating that doing only what everybody else does may not be good enough in the future.
The Deputy's refusal to acknowledge as a progressive step the effort of the industry convening all the stakeholders and stating that they themselves need to do more shines a light on her attitude towards the industry generally. In an extraordinary week for the industry, Deputy Daly has still failed to acknowledge a first, second and third position for the Irish equine industry in the Melbourne Cup.
I would say that the direction of travel is correct here. The industry is attempting to do the right thing. They are investing in new laboratory facilities and we should be encouraging them. Certainly, my Department remains available and the door is open to assist the industry in achieving those objectives.
