PART 2

Horse Racing Ireland

5. —(1) On the establishment day, there shall stand established a body to be known as Horse Racing Ireland or in the Irish language Rásaíocht Capall Éireann, in this Act referred to as HRI, to perform the functions conferred on it by this Act and the Act of 1994.

(2) The Schedule to the Act of 1994, as amended by this Act, shall have effect with respect to HRI.

6. —(1) The Irish Horseracing Authority shall, on the establishment day, stand dissolved.

(2) Any reference in—

(a) any statute or instrument made under statute, or

(b) any permit or authorisation granted under the Act of 1994 which is in force immediately before the establishment day,

to the Irish Horseracing Authority shall from the establishment day be construed as a reference to HRI.

7. —The Act of 1994 is amended, with effect from the establishment day, as set out in the Schedule to this Act.

8. —(1) The general functions of HRI (in addition to its functions under the Act of 1994) shall include the following:

(a) Registry Office functions, that is to say—

(i) naming horses, horse racing passports and identification,

(ii) horserace entries and declarations,

(iii) racing calendar publication,

(iv) stakeholding of race entry funds and prize money for horseraces,

(v) registration of racehorse owners,

in accordance with the Rules of Racing,

(b) the provision and maintenance of mobile track equipment, including starting stalls, photo finish and camera patrol equipment and any other such equipment agreed from time to time between HRI and the Racing Regulatory Body and to provide the Racing Regulatory Body with the photographs, films, sound recordings and other connected materials or data generated by this equipment as required by the Racing Regulatory Body for their examination and use in the enforcement of the Rules of Racing and all such equipment shall be required to be maintained to a specification agreed with the Racing Regulatory Body,

(c) representing Irish horseracing internationally in respect of its functions,

(d) negotiating all income from media rights under section 10 ,

(e) the provision of any financial and other support it deems appropriate to—

(i) maintain and improve the health and welfare status of the thoroughbred horse, and

(ii) assist educational and other institutions and organisations in providing improved training and education facilities and courses for the thoroughbred horse industry to satisfy the training and educational needs of that industry at all levels,

and

(f) any other functions of the Racing Regulatory Body which may be transferred to HRI in the future by agreement of both parties and subject to the consent of the Minister.

(2) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may appoint by order.

9. —(1) HRI shall establish a forum to be known as the Racegoers Consultative Forum (“Forum”) for the purposes of consultations relating to the operations of HRI in the context of developments or desired developments in the horseracing industry generally as they affect the racegoer or service or facility user.

(2) The Forum shall consist of so many members as may be decided, from time to time, by HRI and shall include representatives of horse racegoers clubs, racecourse supporters clubs and other organisations operating in the interests of racegoers or other interest groups affected by the decisions of HRI or who use the various facilities and services provided by HRI.

(3) The Forum shall be established under such terms and conditions determined, before its establishment, by HRI, following consultations with the Minister.

(4) The Minister may appoint two members to the Forum.

(5) HRI shall have regard to any opinions expressed by the Forum on any matter affecting the interests represented by the Forum which may be reviewed by HRI.

(6) HRI may publish any opinion or report of the Forum.

(7) HRI in respect of its appointments to the Forum and the Minister in respect of his or her appointments to the Forum shall ensure, in so far as is practicable, an equitable gender balance.

10. —(1) HRI shall establish a committee (“media rights committee”) to negotiate on and from the establishment day in relation to all contracts or arrangements made on or after that day with any person in relation to the transmission or relaying of any broadcast (within the meaning of the Broadcasting and Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1988 ) or the photographing, filming or sound recording for commercial purposes of a race-fixture or any part thereof (“media rights”).

(2) The media rights committee shall consist of 3 members appointed by HRI who shall be members of HRI.

(3) The chairman of the media rights committee shall be the member of HRI representing the interests of authorised racecourses.

(4) The media rights committee shall include one member of HRI representing the Racing Regulatory Body.

(5) HRI may regulate the procedure of the media rights committee.

(6) There may be paid out of the income of HRI to members of the media rights committee such allowances for expenses incurred by them in the discharge of their functions as HRI may determine with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.

(7) A member of the media rights committee who fails to perform his or her functions may be removed by HRI.

(8) The secretariat and executive functions involved in servicing the work of the media rights committee shall be provided by HRI.

(9) For the first 5 years after the establishment day the income generated from media rights vested in authorised racecourses under section 61(2) of the Act of 1994 shall accrue to the authorised racecourses.

(10) HRI shall enter into arrangements with the executives of authorised racecourses in respect of the distribution of income generated after the period referred to in subsection (9) in relation to the media rights referred to in that subsection and the guarantee to them of an income from those media rights for each of the next 5 years following the period referred to in subsection (9) of at least the average annual income generated in respect of the period referred to in that subsection.

(11) Subsections (1) and (3) of section 61 of the Act of 1994 are, with effect from the establishment day, repealed.

(12) Nothing in section 61 of the Act of 1994 or this section shall prohibit HRI from independently carrying out its functions under paragraph (b) of section 8 (1).

(13) The property rights held immediately before the commencement of section 8 by the Racing Regulatory Body in relation to the publication of the lists of runners and riders and associated information on race-fixtures collected and compiled by it in the course of its Registry Office functions shall on the commencement of section 8 pursuant to the transfer of those functions to HRI under that section be transferred to and vested in HRI and HRI shall pay to the Racing Regulatory Body the following amounts:

(a) for the first 5 years after the commencement of section 8 , the amount of the income generated from the sale of that information, and

(b) for each of the subsequent 5 years after the period referred to in paragraph (a), the average annual income generated in respect of the period referred to in that paragraph.

(14) In this section, “authorised racecourse” and “race-fixture” have the meanings assigned to them by the Act of 1994.

11. —The Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 , is amended with effect from the establishment day—

(a) in section 220, by the substitution in paragraph 5 of the Table for “The Irish Horseracing Authority” of “Horse Racing Ireland”, and

(b) in Schedule 15, by the substitution in paragraph 27 for “The Irish Horseracing Authority” of “Horse Racing Ireland”.