Agriculture Committee to meet with Horse Racing Ireland Chair

The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will hear from the Chairperson of Horse Racing Ireland, Nicholas Hartery, when it meets tomorrow, 3rd of July, in Leinster House.

Speaking today, Committee Chairperson, Pat Deering TD, said, “The horse racing industry is of huge value to Ireland, both domestically and internationally, and Ireland is the second largest producer of bloodstock by value in the world. We are rightly proud of our international status as a country that produces excellent horses and riders and the Committee looks forward to hearing Mr Hartery’s plans for increasing the positive impact of our racing industry. Mr Hartery was appointed as Chairperson of Horse Racing Ireland earlier this year and this is the Committee’s first official engagement with him. Members will wish to question Mr Hartery on his strategic vision for Horse Racing Ireland, particularly in light of issues previously raised by the Committee regarding corporate governance at the organisation.”

“In the second part of our meeting, we will hear from departmental Officials on Review of the Report of the Agriculture Appeals Act Review Committee. The report proposed a number of reforms to ensure a fully independent, fair and effective appeals system. The Purpose of our meeting with the department tomorrow is to assess how the reforms have impacted operations within the Agriculture Appeals Office. Concerns over inspections were high amongst farmers and this is likely to be one of the key topics of discussion tomorrow.”

The meeting will start at 3.30pm in Committee Room 1, Leinster House.

Committee proceedings can be viewed live here