Allegation (a) | The Irish Cob Society

Allegation (a)

Allegation (a) made by the Department in the letter issued to the Irish Cob Society on 23 July 2012:

‘Marking Charts for horses in respect of which passports were issued by the Irish Cob Society Ltd being signed by a representative of the Society rather than by a veterinary practitioner in contravention of Regulation 6(3) of the European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011. The Department has noted several instances of this after the 2011 Regulations took effect.’

The Department is twisting the truth (a lot) in allegation (a):

The Department did not provide any evidence to prove that the true approval granted to the Irish Cob Society in accordance with Article 2(1) of Decision 92/353/EEC (to issue passports in respect of its Irish Cob Studbook) was withdrawn in accordance with Article 3 of Decision 92/353/EEC.

NOTE: Having regard to the fact that an approval granted in accordance with Article 2(1) of Decision 92/353/EEC is to issue passports, if the Department had found that the Irish Cob Society was committing offences when issuing passports, then the Department would have been obliged to instigate an impartial investigation of the Irish Cob Society as the independent 'organisation or association officially approved by the Member State' referred to in Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008—therefore not subject to Department instructions (as an official agency approved to maintain an actual Minister-owned studbook is) but subject to correct national regulations in force at any time.
During the time the Department left the old national regulations (S.I. 399/2004) from 1 July 2009, and therefore from the time the Department failed to have come into force correct national regulations which allowed Ireland comply with Article 24 of Regulation (EC) 504/2008 (i.e. to have laid down by 1 July 2009 the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the Regulation) and with Article 11(1)2nd paragraph of the Regulation (i.e. to have laid down by 1 July 2009 a veterinary practitioner as authorised to implant trasponders in equines), Evelyn Flynn (as the Irish Cob Society's studbook and passport administrator) signed markings charts (Section I of replacement passports) on behalf of the Irish Cob Society—as the issuing body directly responsible under Article 10(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008—to sign and issue replacement passports (excluing the equines from the food chain) where markings charts were sent to the irish Cob Society office with a transponder number but no veterinary practitioner signature.

NOTE: Although Regulation (EC) 504/2008 was binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States from 1 July 2009, the Regulation was not "worth the paper it was written on" in Ireland because new national regulations did not come into force in Ireland on 1 July 2009 which lay down rules and penalities for infringements of the Regulation (in particular where Article 5(6) was infringed as regards the limited time frame allowed for equines to be identified) and which therefore lay down the person of profession (a veterinary practitioner) as authosied to mplant trasponders in equines.

The point must be made here that when the first marking chart arrived in the Irish Cob Society office with a transponder laser bar code label but no veterinary practitioner signature, Evelyn Flynn called the applicant for passport issue and asked why the marking chart had no veterinary practitioner signature. The applicant told Evelyn that the transponder was sold to them by a microchip provider (Elf Group Holdings) which was advertising transponders for sale to anyone because the national regulations in force, S.I. 399/2004, did not mention transponders and that anyone could therefore implant a transponder in an equine without the risk of penalties. The microchip provider was right, and that is why Evelyn Flynn decided that there was a need to act on behalf of the Irish Cob Society—as the issuing body directly responsible under Article 10(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008—to sign and issue replacement passports (excluing the equines from the food chain) where markings charts were sent to the irish Cob Society office with a transponder number but no veterinary practitioner signature.

The only reason that there was a ‘red flag’ on the transponders which equine keepers were implanting in equines themselves, and the Irish Cob Society targeted by the Department, is because the Irish Cob Society was the only issuing body that sourced its transponders from Elf Group Holdings, who had copped on to the fact that the Department left the old national regulations S.I. 399/2004 in force, and decided to profit from this failure of the Department to have new national regulation in force from 1 July 2009 which laid down penalties for infrigments of Regulation (EC) 504/2008, and which laid down a veterinary practitioner as the person entrusted with implanting transponders in equines.

NOTE: Had the Department done its job (as the ‘competent authority’ referred to in Regulation (EC) 504/2008) and brought into force in Ireland on 1 July 2009 national regulations that laid down penalties for infringements of the Regulations and that laid down a veterinary practictioner as authorised to inplanted transponders in equines and therefore as the person referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008 required to carry out the checks referred to in Article 10(1)(a)(b) & (c) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008, then the Department would never have felt ‘the need’ to issue the letters they did to the Irish Cob Society on 23 July 2012 and 30 November 2012 refusing their fake approval of the Irish Cob Society 'to maintain the Irish Cob Studbook'.

RE: POINT 1 of the letter issued by the Department to the Irish Cob Society on 30 November 2012:

'The Department does not accept your contention that the European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011 did not come into effect on 5 July 2011 or that the Department brought it into effect on 14 July 2011.’

I do not contend that the over two years late European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 357/2011) did not come into effect on 5 July 2011, or that the Department brought their over two years late 2011 Regulations into effect on 14 July 2011. However, what is a fact is that although the over two years late national regulations S.I. 357/2011 did come into legal effect on 5 July 2011, it was not (and could not be) ‘effectively in effect’ (i.e. applied by the passport issuing bodies) until the Department notified the passport issuing bodies of its existence on 14 July 2011.

Allegation (a) made in the letter issued by the Department to the Irish Cob Society on 23 July 2012—alleging that the Department noted 'several instances' of non-compliances by the Irish Cob Society with Regulation 6(3) of the over two years late Regulation 6(3) of the European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 357/2011) from the time the Regulations came into effect (and therefore from 5 July 2011) is therefore a completely unreasonable and unfair allegation.

It was not until the Department notified the issuing bodies on 14 July 2011 of the publication of S.I. 357/2011—which finally repealed S.I. 399/2004 and laid down penalties for infringements of Regulation (EC) 504/2008, and which laid down a veterinary practitioner as authorised to implant transponders and therefore as the person resonsible for carrying out the checks required to establish if a transponder was previoulsy implanted in an equine, that the issuing bodies were no longer legally allowed make decisions in relation to the identification of equines, and were therefore limited to being an identification ‘competent authority’ in relation to the issuing of the identification documents (passports) only.

The Department was therefore unequivocally wrong for stating in the letter issued to the Irish Cob Society on 30 November 2012, that ’The Department does not accept that the Irish Cob Society Limited is, or was at any time the ‘competent authority referred to in Regulation 504/2008.’ because the Irish Cob Society could not have claimed to be the 'competent authority' referred to in Regulation (EC) 504/2008 (the legislative competent authority), because the Irish Cob Society was a different 'competent authority' (the identification competent authority).

Reason (a)

Reason (a) given by the Department for refusing their fake approval of the Irish Cob Society ‘to maintain the Irish Cob Studbook’.

The Department is twisting the truth (a lot):

The Department did not provide any evidence that the approval which was granted to the Irish Cob Society in accordance with Article 2(1) of Decision 92/353/EEC (to issue passports in respect of its Irish Cob Studbook) was withdrawn in accordance with Article 3 of Decision 92/353/EEC.

However, having regard to the fact that an approval granted in accordance with Article 2(1) of Decision 92/353/EEC is to issue passports, if the Department had found that the Irish Cob Society was committing offences when issuing passports, then the Department would have been obliged to instigate an impartial investigation of the Irish Cob Society as the independent 'organisation or association officially approved by the Member State' referred to in Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008, therefore not subject to Department instructions but subject to the national regulations in force at any time.
During the time the Department left the old national regulations (S.I. 399/2004) illegally in force from 1 July 2009 (in total contravention of and in legal conflict with Regulation (EC) 504/2008), I, Evelyn Flynn, as the Irish Cob Society's studbook and passport administrator signed markings charts (Section I of replacement passports) acting on behalf of the Irish Cob Society (an independent organisation therefore not under the instruction of the Department as an official agency would be) as the issuing body directly responsible under Article 10(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008 where Irish Cob Society private clientele (equine keepers) sent markings charts to the irish Cob Society with a transponder number but no veterinary practitioner signature.

It is because section 4(1)(b) of S.I. 357/201 the Department's dangerously legally deficient and discriminatory Article 4(1)(b) of S.I. 357/2011, failed to recognise Decision 92/353/EEC and therefore only recognised an person approved to maintain a studbook as official agency under the instruction of the Department, that the Department failed to instigate the required impartial investigation of the Irish Cob Society as the independent 'organisation or association officially approved by the Member State' referred to in Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008, where the Department is the Department had reason to believe that the Irish Cob Society committed offences when issuing passports.

The point must be made here that when the first marking chart arrived in the Irish Cob Society office with a transponder laser bar code label but no veterinary practitioner signature, I called the applicant for passport issue and asked why the marking chart had no veterinary practitioner signature. The applicant told me that the transponder was sold to them by a microchip provider who was advertising transponders for sale to anyone because the national regulations in force (the illegally in force S.I. 399/2004) did not mention transponders and that anyone could therefore implant a transponder in an equine. The microchip provider was right, and that is why I decided that I would need to act (on behalf of the Irish Cob Society as the issuing body referred to in Article 10(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008) directly under Article 10(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008 to sign and issue replacement passports (excluding the equine from the food chain) where Irish Cob Society private clientele (equine keepers) sent markings charts to the Irish Cob Society with a transponder number but no veterinary practitioner signature.

The only reason that there was a ‘red flag’ on the transponders which equine keepers were implanting in equines themselves, and the Irish Cob Society targeted by the Department, is because the Irish Cob Society was the only issuing body that sourced its transponders from the transponder provider who had copped on to the fact that the Department had illegally left the old national regulations S.I. 399/2004 in force and decided to profit from this very serious regulatory failure of the Department.

The point must therefore also be made here that had the Department done its job (as the ‘competent authority’ referred to in Regulation (EC) 504/2008) and brought into force on 1 July 2009 national regulations that not only lay down a person (i.e. a veterinary practiction) as ‘the person’ referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008 required to carry out the checks referred to in Article 10(1)(a)(b) & (c) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008 and which therefore laid down the minimum qualification required for implanting transponders as required in Article 11(1)2nd parapraph of Regulation (EC) 504/2008, but which also lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of Regulation (EC) 504/2008, then the Department would never have felt ‘the need’ to send the letters they did to the Irish Cob Society on 23 July 2012 and 30 November 2012 refusing their non-existent (fake) approval of the Irish Cob Society 'to maintain the Irish Cob Studbook', because the Irish Cob Society (as the issuing body responsible) would not have been put in the position by the Department of having to act directly under Artcle 10(2)(a) to issue replacement passports with my signature, because transponder could not have been legally sold directly to equine keepers to implant in equines themselves.

It is therefore evident that reason (a)—given by the Department on 30 November 2012 for refusing their fake approval of the Irish Cob Society 'to maintain the Irish Cob Stubook' (and the Irish Cob Part Bred Studbook which the Irish Cob Society also establised)—is truth-twisting, unreasonable and unfair, and intended to conceal (including from the judge at the 2013 Irish Cob Society v the Minister High Court Judicial Review) the real (and very serious) non-compliances by the Department with Regulation (EC) 504/2008 for over two years from 1 July 2009 until they eventually had the Minister bring into effect their 2011 Regulations (S.I. 357/2011) on 5 July 2011, which finally repealed the old 2004 Regulations (S.I. 399/2004) which the Department had left illegally in force from 1 July 2009.

RE: POINT 1 of the letter issued by the Department to the Irish Cob Society 30 November 2012:

Because the Department left the old national regulations S.I. 399/2004 illegally in force Ireland from 1 July 2009 (in contravention of and in legal conflict with Regulation (EC) 504/2008, it caused Ireland to fail to comply (for over two years) with Article 11(1)2nd paragraph of Regulation (EC) 504/2008 (to lay down the person or profession entrusted with implanting transponders in equines) and with Article 24 of Regulation (EC) 504/2008 (to lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation). The Department therefore had some nerve refusing their non-existent (fake) approval of the Irish Cob Society based on their totally unreasonable, unfair and truth-twisting reason (a), which did not provide any evidence that the Irish Cob Society no longer met the conditions for approval laid down in the Annex to Decision 92/353/EEC.

Reason (b)

Reason (b) given by the Department for refusing their non-existent (fake) approval of the Irish Cob Society ‘to maintain the Irish Cob Studbook’.

'Failure to record ‘Food Chain’ status of equines on equine passports issued by the Irish Cob Society Ltd and failure to record the Food Chain status of equines identified by the Society on the database maintained by the Society in contravention of Regulation 5(4) and 10 of the European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011.’

ICS passports

The Food Chain status of equine is recorded on Section IX of passports. However, because the Irish Cob Society did not fail to record the Food Chain status of equines on Section IX of any equine passport issued by the Irish Cob Society, the Department inspector (Mr Fintan Deere) at the inspection of the Irish Cob Society conducted in May 2012 (or after the inspection) could not find, and therefore could not produce, any evidence (including at the 2013 ICS v the Minister High Court Judicial Review) that the Irish Cob Society had failed to record the Food Chain status of any equine on Section 1X of any passport issue by the Irish Cob Society.

However, the Department inspector (Mr Fintan Deere) mispresented the facts (including at the 2013 ICS v the Minister High Court Judicial Review) in reason (b) by alleging that the Irish Cob Society had failed to record the Food Chain status of equines on passports issued the irish Cob Society in contravention of Regulation 5(4) of S.I. 357/2011 by producing copies of Section I of passports issued by the Irish Cob Society, even though the Food Chain status of equines is recorded on Section IX of passports (not on Section I).

The ICS database

Following the inspection of the Irish Cob Society conducted by the Department inspector (Mr Fintan Deere) in May 2012, the Department failed to provide the Irish Cob Society with its right to remedy unintentional omissions (found by the inspector) on the Irish Cob Society's database to record the Food Chain status of some equines. After the inspection I wrote to the Department informing them that transitioning to the (over two years late - but I didn't say that) European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 357/2011) caused some unintentional database ommissions as regards the recording of the Food Chain status of equines, but that because the Food Chain status was recorded on Section IX of the equines' passports, and because it was only equines' passports that were used at slaughter plants to determine the Food Chain of equines, that the unintentional omissions on the Irish Cob Society's database could therefroe not compromise the safety of the Food Chain, I had remedied the unintentional omissions on the Irish Cob Society's database to be fully compliant with Regulation 5(4) and 10 of the European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011.

However, the Department refused to acknowledge the right of the Irish Cob Society to remedy the unintentional omissions (which did not compromise food safety because no one only the Irish Cob Society's office staff had access to database), and instead made an affidavit alledging that the irish Cob Society's failure to record the Food Chain status of equines on the database was not remedied and compromised the safety of the Food Chain and which therefore misled the judge to believe that the Irish Cob Society was a ‘rogue official agency’ that refused to comply with Department instructions.

RE: POINT 3 of the letter issued by the Department to the Irish Cob Society 30 November 2012:

'The Department wishes to point out that the purpose of inspections conducted by the Department's inspectors is to establish whether an individual or organisation to which the inspection relates is compliant with the legislative and other obligations to which they are subject.'

The first point to be made here is that the purpose of an official inspection of anything is to identity failures to comply with regulations (including unintentional oversights and those caused by neglect), and the inspector is therefore obliged to issue a written report of the inspection to the inspected pointing out any failure to comply with the regulations, and to provide the inspected with at least a week to remedy any failure identified (the Department seems to have ‘forgotten’ that part). However, where suspected fraudulent activities are found at an inspection, the inspector would be obliged to instigate an official investigation of the inspected.

RE: POINT 2 of the letter issued by the Department to the Irish Cob Society 30 November 2012:

‘The Department does not accept that the Irish Cob Society Limited is, or was at any time the ‘competent authority’ referred to in Regulation 504/2008.’

The Department was the ‘competent authority’ referred to in Regulation (EC) 504/2008 because the Department was responsible for applying (correctly, fully and safely) the Regulation in Ireland from 1 July 2009. The Irish Cob Society—as the ‘organisation or association officially approved or recognised by the Member State’ referred to in Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008 and which was therefore approved in accordance with Article 2(1) of Decision 92/353/EEC—was therefore an independent ‘competent authority’ for the purpose of issuing identification documents (passports) as 'the organisation or association officially approved or recognised by the Member State' referred to in the Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008, and the Department was therefore responsible for overseeing the Irish Cob Society's continued compliance with the Annex to Decision 92/353/EEC under national regulations transposing Regulation (EC) 504/2008 (which repealed Decisions 93/623/EEC and 2000/68/EC) into Irish Law on 1 July 2009.

However, the Department, as the ‘competent authority' referred to in Regulation (EC) 504/2008—responsible for applying (correctly, fully and safely) the Regulation (which repealed Decisions 93/623/EEC and 2000/68/EC)—left the old national regulations (S.I. 399/2004) in force from 1 July 2009, thereby leaving the Regulation repealed Decisions 93/623/EEC and 2000/68/EC in force in Ireland in contravention of and in legal conflict with the Regulation.

A fax issued by the Department on 27 January 2003 not only points out that the Irish Cob Society (the Society) was the ‘competent authority’ for the purpose of identification of equines, but it also points out that the final decision in relation to the identification of equines rested with the Society and not with the Department.

It was not until the Department notified the issuing bodies on 14 July 2011 of the publication of S.I. 357/2011—which finally repealed S.I. 399/2004 and laid down a veterinary practitioner as the person responsible for implanting a microchip in an equine for identification purposes and for carrying out the checks required to establish if a transponder was previoulsy implanted in an equine—that the issuing bodies were no longer legally allowed make decisions in relation to the identification of equines and were therefore limited to being an identification ‘competent authority’ in relation to the issuing of the identification documents (passports) only.

The Department was therefore unequivocally wrong for stating in the letter issued to the Irish Cob Society on 30 November 2012, that ’The Department does not accept that the Irish Cob Society Limited is, or was at any time the ‘competent authority referred to in Regulation 504/2008.’ Although I (on behalf of the Irish Cob Society) stated that the Irish Cob Society was a 'competent authority', I never stated that the Irish Cob Society was the 'competent authority' referred to in Regulation 504/2008. As stated in the Fax issued by the Department on 27 January 2003, it is implied that the Irish Cob Society (being an independent organisation not under the instruction of the Department) was a different (identification) ‘competent authority’.

The point must be made here that it is evident that section 4(1)(b) of S.I. 357/2011 and the letters issued by the Department on 23 July 2023 and on 30 November 2012 were framed by the Department in such a way that made it appear (including to the High Court judge in 2013) that the Irish Cob Society was seeking approval ‘to maintain the Irish Cob Studbook’—and therefore to maintain a Minister-owned (official department established) studbook for the purpose of issuing passports as ‘the official agency of the Member State' referred to in Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008’ (therefore under the instruction of the Department), and that the Department therefore had the right to take the Irish Cob Studbook (which the Irish Cob Society established and therefore owns) from the Irish Cob Society and give it to the Horse Sport Ireland.

The Department knew exactly what they were doing and the reason why they did it when they framed section 4(1)(b) of S.I. 357/2011 the way they did, because after the Irish Cob Society Ltd v the Minister Judicial review was finalised in 2013—which the Department won because of their intentionally legally deficient 4(1)(b) of S.I. 357/2011 which failed to transpose Decision 92/353/EEC and which therefore failed to provide for the right of organisations and associations (including the Irish Cob Society) which established studbooks to ownership of their studbooks, by denying them of their right to maintain their own studbooks—i.e. to make it appear that approval could only be grated ‘to maintain a studbook’, and therefore a Minister-owned (official department established) studbook as ‘the official agency of the Member State' referred to in Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008’ (therefore under the instruction of the Department).

The reason it is evident that the Department knew exactly what they were doing and the reason why they did it when they framed section 4(1)(b) of S.I. 357/2011 the way they did, is becuse after the Irish Cob Society v the Minister High Court Judicial Review concluded in 2013 (and therefore after the Department won the case because of their legally deficient 4(1)(b) of S.I. 357/2011 which led the judge to believe that the Irish Cob Studbook was a Mnister-owned studbook which the Department had the right to take from the Irish Cob Society), the Department made new 2014 Regulations (S.I. 207/2014) in which section 4(1)(a) and (b) of the 2014 Regulations transposes Decision 92/353/EEC and therefore recognised the right of a person (organisation or association) to establish and maintain their own studbooks.

However, in 2014 the Department never came back to the Irish Cob Society apologising for having taken their Irish Cob Studbook, and instead (to this day) continues (using the currupted 'section 4(1)(b) of S.I. 357/2011 influenced decision' made by the judge at the 2013 Irish Cob Society v the Minister High Court Judicial Review) to misrepresent the Irish Cob Studbook as a Minister-owned (official department established) studbook which the Department had the right to take from the Irish Cob Society and give to Horse Sport Ireland and then offer for public tender as a public studbook service.