Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021
1073. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the competitive concerns that preclude the reporting of remuneration at Horse Racing Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11423/21]
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.
Under the 2016 Code of Governance provisions, State Bodies should publish details of the number of employees whose total employee benefits for the reporting period fell within each pay band of €10,000 from €60,000 upwards and an overall figure for each employer pension contributions in their annual report and /or financial statements.
HRI applied to this Department for a derogation of the requirement to include staff benefits tables for their subsidiaries within the group financial statements.
Following this request, my Department considered that, as HRI is a commercial state body, it is acceptable for more detailed data on employee pay bands to be included in the Chairperson’s report to the Minister in lieu of its inclusion in the annual report and financial statements given its commercial sensitivity. This commercial sensitivity is in relation to the competitive racecourse sector. Data protection is also an issue, with the possibility of identifying particular benefits relating to particular staff due to limited numbers of individuals in any given band.
