Greyhound board report shows €66,000 settlement with ex-employee

The Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) last year paid out a €66,000 legal settlement concerning an ex-employee who resigned in February of last year.

The payout – which included a contribution to the ex-employee’s legal costs – is disclosed in the 2020 IGB annual report.

The report states that approval was obtained from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in respect of the settlement.

The report also discloses that the IGB – formerly Bord na gCon and rebranded to Rásaíocht Con Éireann in 2020 – has made a provision of €110,000 concerning a potential VAT liability.

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Chairman Frank Nyhan disclosed that the IGB is engaging with Revenue regarded a revised VAT framework for all activities.

The note states that the IGB had made the €110,000 provision to meet any liability arising from the overall review, which commenced last October.

IGB’s racing revenues last year plummeted as income was “virtually eliminated for most of the year” due to Covid-19.

Race activity

The annual report notes that race activity revenues fell by 64.6 per cent from €22.99 million to €8.13 million.

However, cutbacks as well as the Government grant aid remaining at €16.8 million ensured that the state-owned agency’s surplus increased by 10 per cent.

The IGB’s total income amounted to €17.98 million as expenditure totalled €13.9 million. Additional depreciation, interest and tax costs resulted in the €1.58 million surplus.

In his report, outgoing chief executive Ger Dollard stated that “income from general admissions, tote and food and beverage operations was virtually eliminated for most of the year”.

Racing activity ceased from March to June as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, and the requirement to race behind closed doors was in place for most of the year.

Declining

This resulted in the numbers attending greyhound races declining by 73 per cent from 462,709 in 2019 to 126,376.

Mr Nyhan confirmed that the Government allocation is to increase to €19.2 million this year, and this was “very much necessary to somewhat address the significant financial impact on the sport and industry arising from the Covid-19 pandemic”.

Greyhound welfare has come under the spotlight in recent years, and last year the IGB’s spend on its Greyhound Care Fund increased more than four times to €1.19 million.

The IGB’s spend on “redundancies and organisational structure” increased by 80 per cent to €365,104. Numbers employed by the IGB last year reduced from 237 to 153 and its net staff cost bill reduced from €9.57 million to €5.59 million.

The accounts also disclose that IGB received €741,631 in respect of the Government’s Covid Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) and €589,765 in respect of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS).