RED tape combined with a degree of confusion over eligibility to participate have combined to effectively bog down the progress of the new Equine Discussion Groups.

It’s emerged that confusion over which horses and people are eligible to take part as well as queries over the unique lifetime equine numbers of some horses, the correct identification of the owners/breeders involved and mistakes made with form-filling have all combined to delay progress of nationwide meetings.

With the timeframe now tightening, five meetings have to be held by groups between October 2016 and May 2017 to meet the requirements under the scheme.

The new initiative - which aims to transform the Irish Sport Horse €700m equine sector in a similar way to that experienced by the livestock sector - was warmly embraced when launched earlier this year by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD.

A launch meeting was held last May in Horse and Jockey amid much interest in the scheme nationwide by breeders and producers alike as for the first time, the Knowledge Transfer Equine (KT Equine) was included in the Government’s hugely successful €100m Knowledge Transfer Programme.

The scheme is co-funded by the national exchequer and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development as part of Ireland’s €4 billion Rural Development Programme.

In order to be deemed eligible, participants must hold a registered equine premises and have a minimum of two broodmares for the purpose of breeding sport horses, aged between two and 20. A payment of €700 over 12 months will be made to those who are approved and have attended five meetings per year or four meetings and one KT National Event, such as the upcoming National Equine Conference, organised by Teagasc, earmarked for November 24th.

However, with seven signatures required to be on each form and confusion over whether some 20-year-old horses are classified as eligible or ineligible depending on what month they were born, a certain amount of frustration and delay has crept into the scheme.

Horse Sport Ireland facilitator Michael Doherty acknowledged to The Irish Field: “There is a lot of frustration out there and a lot of confusion on some of the details over which mares are eligible. There is many ongoing queries still be to sorted out by the Innovation Unit in the Department but they are giving facilitators the choice to start the meetings now, subject to those queries being ironed out and the participants approved.

“Many of the breeders only have two mares that were deemed eligible initially and now find themselves facing queries over the month these animals were born which is something that was not actually specified in the 25-pages of terms and conditions they signed up. Other people who own mares that are in family ownership rather than the name of one specific person are facing similar difficulties.

“I can well understand the frustration that people are feeling and we need logic to prevail here so more progress can be made,” said Doherty, who is responsible for five of the groups. “Very few groups are really in operation at this point because of these and similar delays. We are working alongside the Department on this and hope to see some real progress shortly,” added Doherty.

Meanwhile there will be a training day for facilitators in Kildalton College on November 4th next.