The report contains 35 recommendations in total that seek to address a broad range of issues. These include improving the quality of horses through more focused breeding, developing the education and training structure for the transfer of knowledge to breeders, improving the marketing and sales capacity across the industry and progressing the health and welfare of horses.

Speaking at the launch at the Irish Army School of Equitation in Dublin, Minister Coveney said “I commend Horse Sport Ireland, Teagasc and the Royal Dublin Society who have combined their expertise to produce this comprehensive report which involved a detailed consultation process with stakeholders and I was delighted to have been able to attend a number of the regional meetings that were organised as part of that process”.

He added he was conscious in the past of the absence of a "coherent vision and plan for the sport horse sector to enable it to grow and develop and reach its full potential."

The Minister emphasised “it is not always appreciated that the sport horse sector contributes over €700m per annum to the economy, and reaches into communities the length and breadth of the country”.

He underlined the Government’s commitment to the development of the sport horse industry, saying “the extra funding that was made available to Horse Sport Ireland from budget 2015 will facilitate their plans to enhance marketing, to increase prize-money across a range of competitions and to stimulate some innovative events".