Victor Boyhan: Questions HSI on Passports, IT, DNA Backlog

At the very outset, I want to thank Deputy Williard for allowing me to take his slot that he had here. So firstly, I want to welcome Dennis Duggan, Sonia Egan and Avalon Everett and indeed Mike Bray, who's in the meeting too here, from Horseports Ireland. I think you've given a very comprehensive statement. We must keep the focus. We're here today to talk about the passports and the challenges around all of that and its IT and its technologies. But I want to thank you for your overview of your work. I think that's important. You provided that overview to us in writing. We've had time to consider it. I think that's important, but it is very informative and it's consistent with your messaging and your work. So I want to acknowledge that I think that's important. I just have a few comments and then just some questions and perhaps I'll just set them out first and then allow you to come back to get better use of our time. I think it's important that you make the point that Sport Ireland recognise that HSI as the national governing body and that's something that maybe not everyone knows. And as such, your affiliates are equivalent in terms of clubs in other sports. I think that's really important. You provide the national structures in terms of breeders rearing the best sports horses, etc. You might just touch on that because we talk about its athletics and its horses and we're an agricultural committee. We know the significance of horse breeding and the equine business in terms of our area of responsibility here on this committee. You touched also in your report about the Dowling report on governance structures of the sector. Every organisation is important that the people, the public, all stakeholders have full confidence in the governance structures around any organisation. And HSI is no different. And you might just touch on the Dowling report and how the recommendations are progressing. You also talked about the horse passport and the important identity traceability. And you mentioned, interestingly, in that sentence, welfare protection. But I'm not too sure if you have any remit in welfare. You might touch on that. Do you have any remit in terms of the welfare of equine? We have seen controversial coverage in the last few years in the media about the equine industry generally. The public at large don't have an appetite for any sort of abuses of animal welfare and why should they and neither do we. But you might just touch on, do you have a statutory remit for that? And if so, or if not, should you have? Would you like to have? Is it something that you have a particular opinion and view on? And clearly, with all of that, of course, comes resources, and that's important. In terms of the 80%, you mentioned that in 2025, 80% of all applications were submitted digitally. Have you any ambition to make that 100%? There are possible downsides to that. I'm sure you've looked at them. Not everyone has the same knowledge of digital engagement and interaction. But you might just touch on that because it's an issue you raised. You also raised the issue of the HSI are waiting for approximately 800 DNA samples to be returned by breeders. And until these, and I quote, until these samples are returned, we cannot proceed with those applications. That has to be a concern. And how can we increase or reduce the timelines involved there? You might just touch on them because that's really, really important. I suppose what I can say in finishing up here to allow you time to respond, I think your commentary here was fair. You say in your statement to us today, yes, there were difficulties in terms of the IT, the transition. And I think that's fair comment. And quite frankly, I think that's honest and frank of you. And I think it's mature of you to say that. But I think we're moving on. And I suppose HSI will, of course, endeavour to develop its IT systems. I don't know how advanced you are there. And how is all that going in terms of progression? So I think there's a lot of issues there. But I think, look, there's confidence in your organisation. I was at the horse show. I met many of you. And I met competitors, indeed family members of mine, who were competing at the RDS. And I picked up from the ground very much there, on the ground during the horse show, the positivity to your organisation. And I want to pass that on to you because I haven't had an opportunity to say that to you. But it's positive. And you might just touch on some of those issues that I raised here with you today. Thanks. Thank you very much, Senator. So, first of all, with the Dowling report, it was in 2006 that we've had a number of governance reviews since Indicon did a review in 2017. And there was further changes coming out of that. And, again, you will recall from previous visits that we've had to this committee, we've also went through a review led by board members across 2023. Professor Niamh Brennan would have been on the board, an eminent expert, and probably one of the country's best experts in corporate governance was on our board and would have led that review. That led to various reforms which have now been implemented. In terms of welfare protection, and you are right, I did reference in the opening statement about the equine passport that we issue, and indeed many others do, that that is the bedrock of equine traceability. Obviously, we don't, and you touched on it in your question, we do not, as in HSI, do not have a statutory role in welfare. We do a number of things, I suppose, in a soft sense. We mentioned in the statements that we provide grant aid on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to the sector. We use that grant aid to make sure that we are encouraging best practice in terms of welfare. We also place a very high importance of horse welfare amongst our teams and squads. The abuses of the past, and that, again, we've been before this committee with Horse Race in Ireland at the time, discussing those in relation to the abattoir. Therefore, they're an abomination and a slight on the sport, and they have no place. We, as an organisation, as I said, we don't have a statutory remit. We're not a regulator, as we would have told the committee at that time. I'll be honest, you've asked my views on it. It is ultimately a matter for both the department and the houses of the Eroctis. In terms of, you mentioned the 80% digital passport applications that we receive today, absolutely, we do have the ambition to grow that. We do that through pricing, so we incentivise, if you like, by way of a lower price for online applications. We've seen 80% across 2025. In line with the digital public services plan for 2030 to have 90% of transactions by the public done online, we would absolutely like to grow that. It's much more efficient for us as an organisation, but more importantly, it's much more efficient for our customers and breeders. Thank you. Thank you, I need to move on to the centre daily.