€37,550 bonuses to HRI chief to be repaid

FIVE-FIGURE bonuses awarded by Horse Racing Ireland to its chief executive, Brian Kavanagh, are to be repaid in full to the State.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney confirmed that the bonuses, relating to the years 2008/2009, would be refunded after the details of the issue were revealed by the Irish Examiner.

Horse Racing Ireland had awarded Mr Kavanagh a total of €122,000 in bonuses for 2008 and 2009, but payment of some €37,550 of this sum was deferred.

However, in May of this year, the semi-state body proceeded to pay out the €37,550 in backdated bonuses to Mr Kavanagh, against the wishes of the Department of Agriculture.

Previous to this, Horse Racing Ireland had also reversed Mr Kavanagh’s voluntary salary reduction to compensate for the fact he will not receive bonuses for 2010, 2011 or 2012.

These controversial decisions were taken despite a long-running dispute with the department over bonuses, at a time of cutbacks.

However, in a statement over the weekend, Mr Coveney announced that the €37,550 in backdated bonuses would be repaid to the state following “consultation” on the issue with Mr Kavanagh and the chair of Horse Racing Ireland, Denis Brosnan.

The minister said he could confirm “that on a voluntary basis the bonuses paid to the CEO in May, relating to 2008/2009, will be repaid to the State in full”.

Mr Coveney also confirmed that Mr Kavanagh would sign a contract by next month.

The terms and conditions of the contract had also been an issue between the department and Horse Racing Ireland.

Similarly, Mr Coveney said that Bord na gCon chief executive, Adrian Neilon, would similarly sign his outstanding contract within the coming days.

Mr Neilon has been employed by Bord na gCon since 2007 but has not signed a contract up to now because of a dispute over additional clauses added to the standard contract for semi-state bosses.

“The contract situation really needed to be taken in hand; that has happened now,” Mr Coveney told the Irish Examiner.

The department had previously warned that, if contracts were not signed, both men’s employment should be terminated.

The warning came in a March letter from the secretary general of the department, Tom Moran, who said contracts should be signed “without delay”.

He added: “In the absence of a signed contract the employment should be terminated.”