The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine released its report into the The Irish Horse Industry yesterday in the AV room at Leinster House in Government Buildings.
This was extensive work carried out by the all party committee which stated that all parties and independents had 100% signed up to the report.
The report had within it a complete section on Harness Racing in Ireland which detailed the sport on a worldwide scale, the opportunities and difficulties facing the sport in Ireland.
At the end of the report on Harness Racing, the committee detailed 3 recommendations to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, these are as follows,
Recommendation 42:
- That IHRA receive appropriate funding to develop the sport of harness racing from an increased funding stream.
Recommendation 43:
- That a partnership such as the existing one between the IHRA and its counterparts in France be fostered and developed so that Irish Harness Racing can flourish on a world stage.
Recommendation 44:
- That better co-operation between HRI and the IHRA would be encouraged particularly in relation to health standards and the shared use of facilities where appropriate.
A full detail of the complete report will be released shortly on line.
Another huge step today was the authorisation by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Marine that a full and extensive report into economic benefits that harness racing has and could have in 5 to 10 years in Ireland. The full cost of this report will be borne by the Ministers department and a tendering process will start immediately.
Also coming up this Saturday for the IHRA is the general assembly of the UET in Vincennes, Paris where the IHRA will be hoping that its application for full membership of the UET will be successful.
