THE IRISH Racehorse Trainers Association has lodged a fresh appeal with Government departments to allow more foreign stable staff into the country.

Currently the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is not issuing permits for foreigners to work in the racing industry. The Department appears to be favouring more highly-skilled occupations for permits and officials are also concerned that foreigners who come to Ireland to work in racing are more likely to be a burden on the state.

Michael Grassick, IRTA chief executive, confirmed that there remains an acute shortage of stable staff all over the country. “We have written to the Department of Agriculture and to the Department of Jobs asking them to re-issue work permits for foreigners. We understand the minimum wage requirement is €27,500 and we would be comfortable with that. We’re hopeful of a good reception.”

Grassick says the issue is not simply wages. “Getting time off is the big problem,” he said. “A lot of our racing is at the weekend and it can be hard for people with young families.”

Bernard Caldwell, chairman of the Irish Stablestaff Association, is concerned over the IRTA’s latest move. “Our wage agreement with the trainers (€10.75 per hour) is very good and it is very important that any foreign workers who come here are treated the same. Under no circumstances should they undercut Irish staff.”

Caldwell agreed that it is the unsociable working hours of racing which is chiefly responsible for discouraging new entrants to the industry. “Our agreement is based on a 39-hour week and sometimes trainers can’t afford to pay staff any more. In those cases we encourage trainers to instead offer staff time off in lieu. That works for a lot of people.”

Grassick and Caldwell were not surprised by statistics published this week by the British racing industry which reported that 38% of UK trainers have problems recruiting or retaining staff. Grassick said: “Generally speaking the wages for stable staff in Ireland are higher than in Britain.”

Keith Rowe, director at RACE, said: “The research highlights how recruitment, skills and retention issues are impacting on the industry and there appear to be strong parallels with the situation in Ireland. While recognising they have a real staffing problem, they appear to be taking a strategic approach by committing resources over a sustained period and adopting some joined-up initiatives involving a range of industry bodies – accessible training and development for stable and stud staff, careers advice and training service, personal development planning for jockeys and enhanced careers marketing.

“This is the type of approach which has a good chance of achieving some real progress and offers a framework for how we can approach similar issues in Ireland building on the good work being undertaken by the Careers and Racing Education department in Horse Racing Ireland.”