The Minister for Defence, Mr O'Dea, is prepared to establish a review of past practices at the Army Equitation School following concerns raised last month by a former officer and top show jumper over allegations of cruelty and the use of performance enhancing drugs in horses at the McKee Barracks complex in Dublin.
The Irish Times has learnt that the investigation into current practices, sanctioned at the beginning of the month by the Minister, has given the school a "clean bill of health and has identified no problems", according to a Defence Forces spokesman.
The week-long inquiry was initiated following reports of mistreatment made to Army authorities by Capt Con Power, a member of the triple Aga Khan Cup winning team between 1977 and 1979.
Capt Power, who served in the Equitation School for nine years during the 1970s, informed the assistant Chief of Staff of the allegations a month ago.
"I was beginning to hear rumours on the circuit about bad practices in the Army Equitation School," Capt Power told The Irish Times yesterday.
"I rang Maj Gen Dermot Earley and filled him in on all the rumours I was hearing and said that I would really like for the Army to have an internal investigation."
Capt Power indicated to The Irish Times that he had suggested an inquiry into past practices at the school. The inquiry sanctioned by the Minister looked only at current practices.
The Minister will meet the Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Jim Sreenan in coming days to discuss the report, which is due to be published next week.
"If there are any concerns raised over past practices, the Minister will have no difficulty in sanctioning a wider investigation," a spokesperson for Mr O'Dea said last night.
The Minister told the Dáil on Wednesday that this month's inquiry followed "unattributed rumours", alleging that "certain unacceptable practices" were taking place in the Equitation School and that "illegal substances were being used to improve the performance of the horses".
"Do some of the rumours relate to the practice of rapping, which is a practice used to make the horses jump higher?" Green Party deputy John Gormley asked the Minister.
"Some of the rumours related to that practice," the Minister said. "I agree it is unacceptable and represents the worst form of cruelty to animals. If any evidence of rapping is found, the guilty will be punished."
The Minister informed the Dáil that he had not yet seen the report.
The Commanding Officer of the Army Equitation School, Lt-Col Gerry O'Gorman, said he had not seen the report, but understood that it was "very complimentary to management levels and welfare of the horses".
"There are no findings that would suggest there's any mistreatment or abuse of the animals whatsoever," he said.
"The investigation was initiated by the military authorities in response to loose and unfounded rumour. The reason they initiated it was to protect the good name of the school. I was briefed by the military authorities and it was stressed to me that nobody was being accused of any wrongdoing."