Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 October 2023
111. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason there is a need for a separate Irish injured jockeys fund, qualified riders accident fund company and jockeys accident fund; the extent of Government funding for each annually in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47011/23]
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 Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) is the regulatory body for all horseracing in Ireland. The IHRB is a company limited by guarantee. The Turf Club and the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee transferred the regulatory functions together with related assets and liabilities to the company under a business transfer agreement on 1 January 2018. The role of the IHRB as the regulatory body for horseracing is provided for under the Horse Racing Ireland Act 2016 and subsequent Statutory Instruments. However, the body itself remains a private entity.
Section 11 of the Horse Racing Ireland Act 2016 provides for a funding mechanism to be in place under which the costs of integrity services provided by the IHRB are guaranteed by HRI based on an agreed annual budget. A significant amount of the annual funding allocated to the IHRB from HRI, is derived from funding HRI itself receives from my Department via the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund. Formal oversight of the IHRB by HRI is underpinned by a Service Level Agreement.
HRI has informed my Department that the IHRB provides personnel support for the following funds or charities which are administered by the Turf Club or the INHSC:
• The Jockeys Accident Fund
• The Qualified Riders Accident Fund
• The Irish Injured Jockeys
The bodies in question each serve different functions. The Irish Injured Jockeys (IIJ) is a charity set up in 2013 by jockeys, for jockeys and qualified riders and their dependents. Funding is by donation and fundraising events. The Jockeys Accident Fund (JAF) provides income support to jockeys and it not a charity due to the provision of income support. The JAF supports professional jockeys only. The Qualified Riders Accident Fund (QRAF) provides income support to qualified riders only. Similar to the JAF it is not a charity due to the nature of the supports given.
HRI has informed my Department that it made donations totalling €35,700 towards the JAF, €6,300 towards the QRAF and €2,775 towards the IIJ in the five year period from 2018 to 2022.
