HRI board members to face questions in Dail

Members of the board of Horse Racing Ireland face a date in front of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, as controversy continues to rumble surrounding the reappointment of the organisation's chief executive Brian Kavanagh.

At the end of a Monday-evening committee session during which Agriculture Minister Michael Creed answered a range of questions on the issue, several TDs indicated further clarification was required, and that the committee should be given the opportunity to present its concerns directly to board members.

Just hours after the HRI board had met in emergency session to discuss the situation, Creed faced detailed cross-examination about the background to Kavanagh's reappointment, with several parliamentarians, including Independent TD Clare Daly, honing in on the precise sequence of events leading up to the board's formal ratification of Kavanagh's third term in office, passed by majority vote at a meeting in July.