JIM Bolger has told The Irish Field he will not comment on whether he will accept the invitation to appear before an Oireachtas all-party committee until after this weekend.

The trainer has been invited to address the Agriculture Committee on July 6th on the subject of illegal drugs in Irish racing. The Committee has also invited representatives of Horse Racing Ireland, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board and the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association to attend sessions on July 8th and 13th.

Bolger first issued his concerns over Irish racing’s anti-doping efforts in an interview in The Irish Field last October. He has since repeated the claims in other interviews, and last week the IHRB issued a statement defending the integrity of its drug-testing regime.

Jackie Cahill, the Tipperary TD who chairs the Agriculture Committee, told The Irish Field yesterday: “Mr Bolger is a highly respected racehorse trainer and he has made a very serious allegation. I am not saying he is wrong – I have a very open mind on this – but he has made his claims on multiple occasions and it has to be investigated.

“He has said ‘there will be a Lance Armstrong in Irish racing’ and that is a serious statement. We will do our best to get at the truth.

“Mr Bolger will have the opportunity to point out any deficiencies in the testing regime and how he believes people are slipping through the net.

“This has potential to do huge damage to an important industry. I am not passing any view, one way or another, on what Mr Bolger said. If there is substance to it, it is very serious. If not, it has to be put to bed.”

HRI and IHRB officials are expected to appear before the Committee on July 8th, and the IRTA is sending three representatives to the Committee meeting on July 13th.

All three sessions will be televised live on the Oireachtas website.

A spokesperson for the IHRB said: “We would welcome the opportunity to meet with the deputies on the Oireachtas Committee and explain details of what we do in terms of equine anti-doping and our strategies as well as the advances that have been made in this area over the last number of years and more recently.”