Greyhound board has proven track record

REGARDING the letter from Mr Mullins (Feb 4) on the management and operation of Bord na gCon, there are a number of clear facts that Mr Mullins has overlooked.

Since 2007 the money available to greyhound racing through the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund has declined by 20%. Overall revenues, including from betting, which provide a large portion of income, are down by a punishing 48% due to the tough economic conditions that presently exist for discretionary spending.

Against this difficult background, Bord na gCon has acted aggressively in cutting our operational cost base by 29% or €5.9 million. However, during this extensive difficult period we maintained prize money at record levels for three years and only in 2010 have we had to reduce our contribution to prize money from an average per race of €358 in 2009 to €283 in 2010.

These tough decisions were taken so that we best support owners, breeders and trainers who provide the greyhounds that drive this industry, supporting close to 11,000 indigenous jobs. That we have taken these reductions whilst increasing our levels of services through electronic payments, a national sales centre and online entries indicates how efficient an operation Bord na gCon has become. The suggestion that greyhound owners, breeders and trainers have no input into the decision making of the board is patently untrue. The board members come from the industry, are connected to the industry and take soundings from genuine greyhound people

The facts would clearly indicate that the organisation is operationally very efficient with a very strong focus on commercial performance.

We would not have achieved this transformation without our outgoing chairman, Dick O’Sullivan. His guidance, experience, commercial acumen and ability to get things done were fundamental components in the changes that needed to be made. The new chairman can rest assured that when he or she is appointed they will inherit an organisation that is efficient, streamlined and focused on ensuring we support genuine greyhound people.

Adrian Neilan

CEO

Irish Greyhound Board

Limerick