Horse Racing Ireland defends policies after tendering failures

Horse Racing Ireland has defended its purchasing policies after the State’s auditor raised concerns about its failure to follow tendering rules.

In his assessment of the HRI’s accounts, the Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy, said there were a number of instances where proper procurement rules were not adhered to.

These were in addition to the controversy in 2012 when one of HRI’s directors, who was also the chief executive of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, resigned after he was twice sanctioned for conflicts of interest involving favourable treatment given to his wife’s consultancy business.