Irish Horseracing Industry Act, 1994

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SCHEDULE

The Irish Horseracing Authority

1. The Authority shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and, to acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land and to acquire, hold and dispose of any other property.

2. The Authority shall consist of a chairman, and 15 ordinary members, who shall be appointed to be members of the Authority by the Minister having regard to creating a balance among the different interests in the horseracing industry.

3. The chairman may at any time resign his office by letter addressed to the Minister.

4. The Minister may at any time remove the chairman from office.

5. Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, the chairman shall hold office on such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine.

6. The chairman shall be paid, out of moneys at the disposal of the Authority, such remuneration (if any) and allowances for expenses incurred by him (if any) as the Authority may with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance determine.

7. (1) Of the members of the Authority—

(a) two shall be stewards of the Irish Turf Club nominated for appointment thereto by the stewards of that body,

(b) one shall be a steward of the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee nominated for appointment thereto by the stewards of that body,

(c) two shall be representative of authorised racecourses nominated for appointment thereto by such persons as the Minister considers to be representative of authorised racecourses,

(d) one shall be representative of horse breeders nominated for appointment thereto by such persons as the Minister considers to be representative of horse breeders,

(e) one shall be representative of horse owners nominated for appointment thereto by such persons as the Minister considers to be representative of horse owners,

(f) one shall be representative of horse trainers nominated for appointment thereto by such persons as the Minister considers to be representative of horse trainers,

(g) one shall be representative of authorised bookmakers nominated for appointment thereto by such persons as the Minister considers to be representative of authorised bookmakers,

(h) one shall be representative of persons employed in the horseracing industry nominated for appointment thereto by such persons as the Minister considers to be representative of such persons,

(i) one shall be representative of racegoers nominated for appointment thereto by such persons as the Minister considers to be representative of racegoers,

(j) one shall be representative of national hunt interests nominated for appointment thereto by the Racing Regulatory Body,

(k) four shall be chosen by the Minister after consultation with such persons as he considers appropriate who are engaged in, or are representative of those engaged in horseracing or the promotion or development of the horseracing industry, one of whom, at least, shall be representative of the horseracing industry in Northern Ireland,

and one of the aforesaid members shall be appointed to be the chairman by the Minister.

(2) Where any of the persons referred to in subparagraph (1) to nominate a person for appointment as a member of the Authority for any reason fail to so nominate, the Minister may appoint as a member of the Authority such person as he decides to represent that part of the horseracing industry concerned.

(3) (a) In subparagraph (1) (c) to (j) the person appointed by the Minister in each case to be a member of the Authority shall be chosen by the Minister from a panel of at least three persons, containing (as far as is practicable) at least one male and one female nomination, submitted to the Minister by the representative interests concerned.

(b) The representative interests concerned shall, when submitting nominations to the Minister under subparagraph (1) (c) to (j), create an equitable balance in those nominations from the interests which they represent.

8. Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, each ordinary member of the authority shall hold office on such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine.

9. (1) The term of office of the chairman shall be 5 years.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, the term of office of an ordinary member of the Board shall be 5 years or, in the case of members appointed pursuant to paragraphs 7 (1) (a) and (b), the period during which they remain nominated stewards.

(3) The term of office of 8 of the first members of the Authority, other than the chairman or a person appointed under paragraph 7 (1) (a) or (b), shall be—

(a) 4 years in respect of 4 such members, and

(b) 3 years in respect of 4 such members,

determined by the Minister by lot.

(4) A member of the Authority shall not serve for more than 10 consecutive years.

10. (1) If a member of the Authority dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Authority to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned and the person so appointed shall be appointed in the same manner as the member of the Authority who occasioned the casual vacancy.

(2) A person appointed to be a member of the Authority by virtue of this paragraph shall hold office for the remainder of the term of office of the member who occasioned the casual vacancy he is appointed to fill and shall be eligible for re-appointment as a member of the Authority.

11. Subject to paragraph 9 (4), a member of the Authority whose term of office expires by effluxion of time shall be eligible for re-appointment as a member of the Authority.

12. The Minister may at any time remove an ordinary member of the Authority from office.

13. An ordinary member of the Authority may resign his office as a member by letter addressed to the Minister.

14. A member of the Authority shall be disqualified from holding and shall cease to hold office if he is adjudged bankrupt or makes a composition or arrangement with creditors or is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment or penal servitude or commits an offence under this Act or is disqualified from holding any licence, permit or authorisation granted under this Act or is the subject of an exclusion notice under section 62 .

15. Each ordinary member of the Authority shall be paid, out of moneys at the disposal of the Authority, such remuneration (if any) and allowances for expenses incurred by him (if any) as the Authority may with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance determine.

16. (a) The Authority shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the due execution of its functions.

(b) The Minister may fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Authority.

17. The quorum for a meeting of the Authority shall be 8.

18. At a meeting of the Authority

(a) the chairman shall, if present, be the chairman of the meeting, and

(b) if and so long as the chairman is not present or if the office of chairman is vacant, the members of the Authority who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

19. The chairman, and each ordinary member of the Authority, present at a meeting thereof shall have a vote.

20. Every question at a meeting of the Authority shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question and, in the case of an equal division of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

21. The Authority may act notwithstanding one or more than one vacancy among its members.

22. Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, the Authority shall regulate by standing orders or otherwise, the procedure and business of the Authority.

23. The Authority shall, as soon as may be after its establishment, provide itself with a seal.

24. The seal of the Authority shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairman or some other member thereof authorised by the Authority to act in that behalf and the signature of an officer of the Authority authorised by the Authority to act in that behalf.

25. Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Authority and every document purporting to be a regulation or other instrument made by the Authority and to be sealed with the seal (purporting to be authenticated in accordance with paragraph 24) of the Authority shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without proof unless the contrary is shown.