RACING:HORSE RACING Ireland's top brass are hoping their chief executive Brian Kavanagh's decision to return over €37,000 of bonus payments to the government will put an end to an embarrassing dispute between the sport's ruling body and the Department of Agriculture.

The Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, was reportedly “very unhappy” over how in May the HRI board approved two performance related bonus payments to Kavanagh of €21,089 and €16,461 for the years 2008 and 2009 respectively. Those payments were paid this year in accordance with the chief executive’s employment conditions but although they were for 2008 and 2009, since then the government position has been to discourage the payment of bonuses in semi-state bodies due to the current difficult economic climate.

However over the weekend Kavanagh voluntarily returned the €37,550 in bonus payments. He has also voluntarily given up any bonus entitlements for the period from 2010 to 2012. Kavanagh is currently in negotiations with Horse Racing Ireland over a new contract and declined to comment on the matter yesterday.

Horse Racing Ireland has been hit with financial cuts during the last number of years with a drop in Government funding from €76 million in 2008 to €57.2 million for 2011. Kavanagh has overseen some dramatic cost-cutting measures with some reports indicating staff numbers have been cut by up to 20 per cent.

After a meeting between Kavanagh, the HRI Chairman, Denis Brosnan and the Minister for Agriculture over the weekend, it was agreed that the bonus payments would be paid back.