Trainers welcome return of racing workplaces to agriculture umbrella

The Irish racing and breeding industries are on the verge of a more practical labour law categorisation with the minister for employment affairs Regina Doherty understood to have signed off on a statutory instrument (SI) that will lead to them once again qualifying for agriculture exemptions.

Since an amendment to the Industrial Relations Act in 2015, agriculture has been defined as "raising animals or crops for human consumption”.

That precluded the rearing and training of horses from exemptions from strict interpretations of the Organisation of Working Time Act that the agriculture sector is privy to, and led to the Workplace Relations Commission issuing a compliance notice against Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle firm following an inspection in May 2016.