Positive Response to Horse Sport Ireland Budget 2022 Submission

Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine Jackie Cahill TD (left) pictured with Horse Sport Ireland Acting CEO Joe Reynolds

On Wednesday, 29^th September Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) met individually with over 40 members of Dáil Éireann, Senators and Cllrs in an open briefing at Buswells Hotel in Dublin to present HSI’s key budgetary asks for 2022.

HSI is seeking increased funding of €1.2 Million for the Irish Sport Horse industry in Budget 2022 to:

• Deliver equal recognition and opportunities for equine farmers through access to TAMS Schemes.
• Further develop breeding initiatives and improve herd quality.
• Implement the Knowledge Transfer, Horse Production Pathway and invest in regional training and production facilities.
• Continue to protect the industry’s integrity through the National Equine Anti-Doping Programme.

The Submission also includes a capital funding ask of €7.8 Million to construct a national training and education building, reproduction and veterinary hub and industry administration headquarters. A positive planning decision for a site identified has been recently granted, making the project “shovel ready”.

To view the budget submission, click here: HSI Budget 2022 FINAL

John McGuinness TD (left) pictured with Acting Chairperson of Horse Sport Ireland Mary Lambkin-Coyle

HSI Acting CEO Joe Reynolds, Acting Chairperson Mary Lambkin-Coyle, Head of Sport Legal and Governance Avalon Everett, Head of Finance John Moran, HSI Industry Economic Forum members Michael Slattery and James Tarrant and members of the HSI marketing team Leanne O’Sullivan and Alyssa O’Neill presented these key asks and speaking afterwards Acting CEO Joe Reynolds said: “The response was very encouraging.

“We had an hour-long discussion with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon and Assistant Secretary General, Kevin Smyth which was very fruitful, and in the afternoon, we met with a considerable number of Ministers, Senators and Deputies. These are people who know the topic and are very interested. We were there to make our case and to gather support. Most representatives committed to actively supporting our submission by bringing our case to Government. I think the work we have done will really pay dividends and I would like to acknowledge the work of the team involved on the day and the work of HSI Board Member Lucinda Creighton and her colleague at Vulcan Consulting Keith Hoare, as well as Barry O’Connor the Chair of HSI’s Industry Economic Forum.”

Cathal Crowe TD (right) pictured with Michael Slattery, a member of Horse Sport Ireland’s Industry Economic Forum

The Irish Sport Horse industry is worth just under €1Bn to the Irish economy and provides over 14,000 full-time jobs (the equivalent of five Facebooks). There is significant potential for ambitious export-led growth and in terms of employment there is a substantial multiplier effect through the involvement of over 47,000 working in ancillary roles. Adding to this, the sport horse industry in Ireland impacts every county in Ireland and it is a green asset in that it is clean, green, low-carbon, home grown industry which offers the opportunity to grow farm income without intensification.

Picture left to right (back row) Horse Sport Ireland Head of Finance John Moran, Acting CEO Joe Reynolds, Industry representatives Michael Slattery and James Tarrant, (front row) Marketing Executive Leanne O’Sullivan, Head of Sport Legal and Governance Avalon Everett and Design & Marketing Executive Alyssa O’Neill.