The Chief Financial Officer at the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Body is on voluntary leave ‘without prejudice to his position’ while an investigation is undertaken into governance issues around financial transactions at the Board.
The news emerged as new CEO Darragh O’Loughlin was in front of the Public Accounts Committee yesterday to explain why a seeming outlier boost to the exit package of his predecessor had not been included in the published accounts, contrary to a request from the Department of Agriculture which oversees it.
That boils down to issues relating to a legal right to privacy under GDPR and Wage legislation but it is not yet clear whether the new issue is related.
Horse Racing Ireland and the Department are being kept appraised of the investigation which comes at a time when the eyes of the media are very firmly focused on governance in publicly funded bodies.
The IHRB were followed into the committee rooms by the Executive committee and members of the board of RTÉ yesterday.
The news is also unfortunate in its timing with the Curragh, where the IHRB is based, preparing to host the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, one of the most important days of the year nationally and internationally for the sport.
Chief Financial Officer Donal O’Shea has been on the senior management team since 2017 when he joined from Glanbia. Former Chief Justice Frank Clarke is a member of the Board.
