But when asked if it related to the running and regulation of various charitable trusts managed by the IHRB and its constituent bodies, the Turf Club and Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee, he said he couldn’t address speculation.
Crucial to that is the IHRB’s structure as a self-appointed organisation which this year will get €11.4 million of public money. It is a contradiction at the heart of an accountability deficit that facilitates a situation where a Minister can to all intents and purposes get told to whistle. The Public Accounts committee heard of how the former CEO of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board received €384,870 termination payment.
The regulatory structure looks like a relic from another time. Many within the IHRB are trying might and main to implement reform, and with some success. But too much of it smacks of Obama’s line about lipstick on a pig.