THERE will be no hold on Horse Sport Ireland’s funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine following the recent public fallout of the board of the national governing body.

Speaking to The Irish Field this week, Minister Charlie McConalogue said, despite a challenging few months for HSI, which also saw them launch a judicial review against the department over a decision to award the tender for the provision of marketing services to the Irish Horse Board, he is committed to supporting the sector. HSI have now dropped these legal proceedings.

“It’s been a challenging time over the last number of months for Horse Sport Ireland. The outgoing board all decided to resign to allow a fresh start and I engaged then to try to ensure that we could put in place an interim board, to bring us up to the Olympics, of people who could try and bring Horse Sport Ireland forward and really put it on a very very strong footing over the time ahead,” commented Minister McConalogue.

“The work that HSI does is massively important in relation to underpinning our horse sport sector and the various strands of it and the organisations that are involved; the funding is very important, they have a strong staff, and it’s a valuable organisation.

“So I look forward now to working with the board and I want to thank Michael Dowling who is going in as chairperson and the directors who have put a lot of time and effort in since they started. I think it is going to make a real difference and it’s going to see HSI strengthen its positon and continue to serve very well the horse sport sector in the years ahead.”

Asked if there would be any hold on funding while HSI get their house in order, the Minister replied: “No. Funding of the sector is really important and it is something I have increased very significantly over the last three Budgets while I’ve been Minister and I’m very committed to doing that. Obviously we have to ensure the structures are in place within HSI to effectively oversee it as Minister and to make sure that funding is delivering a real impact, in terms of supporting the sector. I’ve no doubt that the new board, working with the staff, will ensure that continues to be the case.”

Joint Committee statement

Meanwhile, the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine released a statement regarding recent developments at Horse Sport Ireland on Thursday afternoon.

The statement read: “Horse Sport Ireland is responsible for the growth and development of the horse sport sector in Ireland, a sector delivering sporting, economic and cultural benefits. The Joint Committee of Agriculture, Food and the Marine notes the recent events in relation to Horse Sport Ireland and the public and stakeholders’ concerns regarding these events.

“The Committee is aware that significant public funds are provided to Horse Sport Ireland through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Sport Ireland and intends, in the near future, to examine these events with Horse Sport Ireland.”