‘Embarrassing’ failures in horse welfare and finance exposed at Public Accounts committee
Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board CEO Darragh O’Loughlin arriving at Leinster House to attend the Public Accounts Committee. Pic: Sam Boal/Collins Photos.
A Public Accounts Committee appearance by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) and the Department of Agriculture has plunged the reputation of Ireland’s equine industry into deepening crisis.
In a sometimes extraordinary Oireachtas hearing, the IHRB refused to reveal why it moved €350k from an injured jockeys' charity into its own accounts, while both HRI and the Department offering no credible answers as to how an unlawful slaughterhouse was free to operate despite numerous complaints and a conviction for animal cruelty.
