| Synopsis: |
The Irish Sport Horse Genetic Testing Unit Ltd (Sport Horse) was set up in 1996 to establish an innovative elite horse breeding project. Between 1996-97 and 2000-01, the project received a GBP 3.3 million grant from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (the Department). In July 2001, Sport Horse ceased trading and all remaining assets - an Equine Reproductive Technology Centre (the Centre), 95 horses (estimated value of GBP 110,000), and a stock of frozen semen were transferred to the Department. This report examines areas of concern: the Department's upfront payment of GBP 500,000 for a 25-year lease of the Necarne estate in Co. Fermanagh at which Sport Horse was based; the disposal of the assets transferred from Sport Horse to the Department, including the circumstances in which part of the semen stock was destroyed and the value of that loss. It also considers the Department's handling of a subsequent Freedom of Information request regarding the loss. |