Greyhound Industry Act , 1958

PART I. Preliminary and General.

1. Short title.

2. Interpretation.

F1["Act of 2024" means the Gambling Regulation Act 2024;]

“ authorised coursing ground ” means a coursing ground at which authorised coursing meetings are held;

“ authorised coursing meeting ” means a coursing meeting authorised by the Club;

“ authorised officer ” means a person appointed in writing by the Board or the Club (as may be appropriate) to be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act;

F1["betting licence" has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2024;]

F2[“betting office”means any premises at a greyhound race track in which betting is permitted by regulations undersection 32Dof this Act;]

F3[“Board”means Rásaoícht ConÉireann;]

“ the Club ” means the Irish Coursing Club;

“ course bet ” means—

(a)a bet entered into by a licensed bookmaker, during a greyhound race meeting held at a greyhound race track, on a greyhound race forming an item at that meeting, or

(b)a bet entered into by a licensed bookmaker, during an authorised coursing meeting (not being a meeting declared by the Board by regulations to be exempted as respects the levies provided for by this Act), on an event forming an item at that meeting;

“ course-betting permit ” has the meaning assigned to it in section 29;

“ the establishment day ” means the day appointed to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act by order of the Minister made under section 3 of this Act;

“ greyhound race ” means a greyhound race (including trial and schooling) in which an object propelled by mechanical means is pursued;

“ greyhound race track ” means a greyhound race track on which greyhound races are held for reward;

“ greyhound race track licence ” has the meaning specified in section 22;

F1["in-person and remote betting licence" has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2024;]

F1["in-person betting licence" has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2024;]

“licensed bookmaker” means a person who is for the time being the holder of a bookmaker's licence issued to him under the Betting Act, 1931 (No. 27 of 1931);

F1["licensed bookmaker" means a licensee (within the meaning of the Act of 2024) of an in-person betting licence or an in-person and remote betting licence for the time being in force under the Act of 2024 which licence authorises the licensee to act as a bookmaker (within the meaning of section 3 (2) of the Act of 2024);]

F3[“Minister”means Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine;]

F1["pool betting" has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2024;]

“precincts” means, in relation to an authorised coursing ground, any place adjacent to that coursing ground to which the public habitually resort for the purpose of watching coursing;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Board under this Act;

F4["totalisator licence" means a betting licence to the extent that the licence authorises the licensee (within the meaning of the Act of 2024) of that licence to provide pool betting for an event, a series of events or a class of events;]

(2)A reference in this Act to a contravention of any provision includes, where appropriate, a reference to contravention of that provision by failing or refusing to comply therewith.

3. Establishment day.

4. Performance of functions of the Club.

(a)before the day appointed by the Minister under subsection (7) of section 26 of this Act—by the Standing Committee of the Club, and

(b)on and after that day—by the Executive Committee of the Club,

but, in the case of rules made under this Act, the rules shall not come into operation unless and until they are approved of at a general meeting of the Club.

5. Regulations and rules generally.

(a)the production of a document purporting to be a copy of any regulation made by the Board under this Act and to be certified to be a true copy by the chairman of the Board or the chief officer of the Board shall be sufficient evidence of the regulation and that any consultation requisite under this Act in relation thereto has been effected and no proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of the person certifying the document,

(b)the production of a document purporting to be signed by an officer of the Minister and certifying that any specified regulation made by the Board under this Act was made with the consent of the Minister shall be sufficient evidence that the regulation was made with the consent of the Minister and no proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of the person signing the document.

(2)In all legal proceedings—

(a)the production of a document purporting to be a copy of any rule made by the Club under this Act and to be certified to be a true copy by the president of the Club or the secretary of the Club shall be sufficient evidence of the rule and no proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of the person certifying the document,

(b)the production of a document purporting to be signed by the president of the Club or the secretary of the Club and certifying that any specified rule made by the Club under this Act came into operation on a specified day shall be sufficient evidence that the rule came into operation on that day and no proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of the person signing the document,

(c)the production of a document purporting to be signed by the chairman of the Board or the chief officer of the Board and certifying that any specified rule made by the Club under this Act was made with the consent of the Board shall be sufficient evidence that the rule was made with the consent of the Board and no proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of the person signing the document.

(3)The Board may make regulations in relation to any matter or thing referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(4)Every regulation made by the Board under this Act F5[or the Minister undersection 36(1A)] shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(5)Every rule made by the Club under section 25 or section 37 of this Act and approved of as provided for by section 4 of this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is so approved of, and if a resolution annulling the rule is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the rule is laid before it, the rule shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(6)Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting or affecting the operation of section 4 of the Documentary Evidence Act, 1925 (No. 24 of 1925).

PART II. Bord na gCon.

6. Establishment of the Board.

(2)The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal (which shall be judicially noticed) and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to hold land.

7. F6[Constitution of Board.

(a) a chairperson, and

(b) 8 ordinary members, who have, in the opinion of the Minister, experience of or shown capacity in matters relevant to the functions of the Board.

(2) The Minister shall, insofar as practicable and having regard to the relevant experience of the persons concerned, ensure an equitable balance between men and women in the composition of the membership of the Board.]

8. F7[Members of Board.

(2) Of the ordinary members of the Board—

(a) one or more than one shall be a veterinary practitioner of at least 5 years standing, and

(b) one or more than one shall be a person with a detailed knowledge of the greyhound industry.

(3) The chairperson of the Board shall hold office for the period of 5 years from the date of his or her appointment.

(4) Subject tosubsection (4), an ordinary member of the Board shall hold office for the period of 3 years from the date of his or her appointment.

(5) On the commencement of section 9 of the Greyhound Racing Act 2019 any member of the Board with less than 3 years service on the Board from his or her first or subsequent appointment, shall continue as a member of the Board until he or she has served 3 years.

(6) A person who has served 2 consecutive terms of office as a member of the Board is not eligible for re-appointment.

(7) A member of the Board to whomsubsection (4)applies may, subject tosubsection (5), be eligible to be re-appointed as an ordinary member of the Board under this section.

(8) A member of the Board, subject to this Act, holds office upon such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration, expenses and allowances) as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determines.

(9) If a member of the Board dies, resigns, ceases to be qualified for office and ceases to hold office, or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Board to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned.

(10) A person appointed to be a member of the Board undersubsection (8)holds office for that period of the term of office of the member who occasioned the casual vacancy that remains unexpired at the date of his or her appointment and is eligible for reappointment as a member of the Board for one term of office on the expiry of that period.

(11) Where a member of the Board, whose term of office has expired, has not been reappointed or may not be reappointed by virtue of having served 2 consecutive terms, the member shall continue in office until the vacancy occasioned by him or her is filled by the appointment of another person.

(12) The Board may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership.]

9. F8[Conditions of office of members of Board.

(a) the member—

(i) becomes incapable through ill health of effectively performing his or her duties, or

(ii) breaches the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies or other such codes or policy documents that may issue from time to time by a member of the Government,or

(b) the removal is necessary for the effective performance of the functions of the Board.

(2) A member of the Board may resign from office by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation takes effect when the Minister receives the letter.

(3) A member of the Board ceases to hold office if

(a)he or she is adjudicated bankrupt,

(b)he or she makes a composition or arrangement with a creditor,

(c)he or she is convicted of an offence under the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997 or an offence involving cruelty to an animal or relating to animal welfare,

(d)he or she is the subject of an exclusion order,

(e)he or she is convicted of an indictable offence in relation to a company or an existing company (within the meaning of the Companies Act 2014),

(f)he or she is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,

(g)he or she is sentenced to a term of imprisonment by a court of competent jurisdiction, or

(h)he or she is the subject of an order under section 842 of the Companies Act 2014.]

10. Meetings and procedure of the Board.

F9[(2)The quorum for a meeting of the Board is 6.]

(3)At a meeting of the Board—

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

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

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

(5)The Board may act notwithstanding one or more than one vacancy among its members.

(6)Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall regulate, by standing orders or otherwise, the procedure and business of the Board.

11. Officers and servants of the Board.

(2) F10[…]

(3)The Board may at any time remove any officer or servant of the Board from being such officer or servant.

(4)There shall be paid by the Board to its officers and servants such remuneration and allowances as the Board may determine.

(5)An officer of the Board—

(a)shall not be beneficially interested in the ownership, control or operation of greyhound race tracks, the holding or conduct of public sales of greyhounds or the training of greyhounds for reward or in bookmaking, and

(b)when present on behalf of the Board at any race track meeting or coursing meeting, shall not engage in betting at the meeting or be beneficially interested in the ownership of a greyhound competing in a race or event at the meeting.

12. Offices of the Board.

(a)purchase or take on lease land,

(b)build, equip and maintain offices and premises.

(2)The Board may sell or lease any offices or premises held by it which are no longer required for the due performance of its functions.

13. Committees of the Board.

(2)The Board may delegate to a committee of the Board any of its functions which, in its opinion, can be better or more conveniently performed by a committee, and may regulate the procedure of any such committee.

(3)A committee of the Board shall consist of such number of members as the Board thinks proper and may, at the discretion of the Board, F11[include or consist of persons who are not members of the Board].

(4)The acts of a committee of the Board shall be subject to confirmation by the Board save where the Board dispenses with the necessity for such confirmation.

F12[(5)The Board shall decide the terms of reference of any committee of the Board.

(6)The Board may appoint a person to be chairman of a committee of the Board.

(7)A member of a committee of the Board who fails to perform his functions may be removed at any time by the Board.

(8)The Board may at any time dissolve a committee of the Board.

(9)There shall be paid out of the income of the Board to members of a committee of the Board such allowances for expenses incurred by them in the discharge of their functions as the Board may determine, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.]

14. Minutes.

15. Seal of the Board.

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

16. Application of funds of the Board.

(a)the payment of expenses incurred by it in the exercise and performance of its powers and duties under this Act,

(b)the payment of any moneys in accordance with the terms of any totalisator licence held by it,

(c)the making of payments, grants or loans for all or any one or more of the following purposes:

(i)the increase of stake money and prizes at greyhound race meetings at greyhound race tracks and authorised coursing meetings,

(ii)the reduction of entry fees and similar charges in respect of greyhounds competing in events forming items at such meetings,

(iii)the carriage of greyhounds competing in such events,

(iv)the improvement of greyhound race tracks, authorised coursing grounds and the amenities thereof,

(v)the preservation of hares, and the care and management of hares in connection with authorised coursing meetings,