THE staff of Horse Sport Ireland have written to a number of government ministers regarding the ongoing examinership of the organisation and the security of their jobs.

The letter, understood to have been sent on behalf of the vast majority of the body's 47 staff, was sent to An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, Tánaiste, Simon Harris TD, Minister Patrick O'Donovan TD, Minister Noel Grealish TD, Minister Timmy Dooley TD, Minister Niall Collins TD and Minister Charlie McConalogue TD.

It is understood the staff are facing a group redundancy scenario involving up to ten positions and that expressions of interest for voluntary redundancies close this week.

The letter centres around their concern over the tender for National Breeding Services (NBS) from the Department of Agriculture, which is worth €6m. The objective of the NBS is to implement strategies and initiatives in support of Irish sport horse breeders and producers, and it incorporates the delivery of breeding and production incentives and knowledge transfer programmes.

HSI was notified that its renewal tender for the DAFM National Breeders Service had been accepted on July 31st. However, it is understood that no contracts have been signed. The latest response from DAFM on the matter states "the NBS contract shall expire on December 31st 2026. A new procurement competition was held in 2026 for the provision of NBS services commencing January 1st 2027. This procurement process is on-going".

OUR EARLIER COVERAGE OF THE EXAMINERSHIP CAN BE FOUND HERE

Deeply concerned

"As employees, we are deeply concerned about the future of our jobs and our ability to continue supporting our families," the staff letter states.

"The execution of the National Breeding Services contract is now the single most important issue facing the organisation. Without it, the Examiner will be deprived of the certainty of future finance required to formulate a viable plan to emerge from examinership. In those circumstances, the prospects of HSI successfully emerging from examinership would be highly unlikely as outlined by AAB’s independent expert report submitted to the High Court.

"For us, this is not simply an administrative or contractual matter. The outcome will directly affect our livelihoods, our families and the future of an organisation to which we are dedicated professionally. We respectfully ask that the contract is executed without further delay.

"HSI competed for the National Breeding Services contract through a public procurement process and, following assessment by an independent panel, was recently selected as the successful bidder. All staff are proud of the part we played in winning this contract again. The procurement process has now concluded, and the cooling-off period has ended. We are not seeking any alteration to that outcome. We are simply requesting that the contract arising from that completed process be executed as soon as possible.

"For staff, the consequences are very real. HSI employs 47 people. The loss of those jobs would have a substantial impact on employees and their families, many of whom live in Kildare North and Kildare South. It would also result

in the loss of experienced professional staff who deliver specialist services on behalf of both the Department and the wider equine sector.

"The National Breeding Services Contract is central to the organisation's operations. It pays the salaries of the eight staff who deliver the service directly. It contributes 45% of the employment cost of a further 12 colleagues in finance, administration, human resources, IT and other essential support functions. It also contributes 45% of HSI's overall business overheads. Remove that contract and you do not leave a smaller HSI. You remove the financial foundation on which a viable HSI and our jobs rests. The impact outside the organisation will be larger still, particularly to the sector and to the Department."

The letter goes on to outline how many breeders rely on HSI for passporting services and the cost of the specialist IT system developed to support these functions.

"We have been advised that in the event of the organisation being unable to emerge successfully from examinership, it would fall under the control of the liquidator. At that point the system simply cannot just be transferred to DAFM or another organisation," the letter states.

"In addition, more than 44,000 recipients of National Breeding Services grant payments depend on the effective administration of schemes delivered through HSI. Any disruption to these arrangements would create uncertainty for breeders and place massive pressure on the Department to establish alternative arrangements within a very short timeframe which would likely take several months to resolve – and at considerable cost to the State.

"HSI and its staff are not asking for special treatment, nor are we seeking to revisit the outcome of a completed procurement process. We are simply asking that the contract arising from that process in which we were successful in winning be concluded so that the staff, the Examiner and the wider sector can have the certainty needed to plan for the future.

"We recognise that, even after you sign the National Breeding Services contract, difficult decisions still lie ahead. There may be restructuring and there may be redundancies. We would therefore ask that you and your department continue to engage with HSI and the Examiner to minimise the impact on staff and preserve as many jobs as possible.

"We write not as directors, office holders or representatives of any interest group or affiliate, but as the employees of HSI whose livelihoods depend on the successful emergence of the organisation from examinership. As Horse Sport Ireland is not a unionised workplace, we have no formal channel through which to collectively advocate for our jobs and our families. For that reason, we are writing to you directly. Collectively, we represent 47 jobs, 47

families and decades of experience dedicated to serving the sport horse sector and equestrian sport. We respectfully urge you to facilitate the execution of the National Breeding Services contract without delay and to provide confirmation of that decision to the Examiner at the earliest opportunity."

DAFM has been contacted for an update on the contract for National Breeding Services.

OUR EARLIER COVERAGE OF THE EXAMINERSHIP CAN BE FOUND HERE