Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I would be happy to get any seat at all, myself.

I wish to speak to section 46 and in particular the betting duties. Section 46(2) provides for the repeal of sections 17(2) and 17(3) of the Finance Act 2009 relating to the rate of betting duty. I do not understand why the Minister is seeking to repeal these sections. The Labour Party through its former spokesperson, Deputy Upton, published a very comprehensive paper entitled Raising the Stakes, in which she established a formula that would allow for a greater degree of online capture. Mr. Kavanagh from Horse Racing Ireland gave a comprehensive overview on the state of play at today's meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. His overview referred to a fourth consecutive cut to the horse and greyhound racing fund which has fallen from €76 million in 2008 to €57.2 million in 2011 and that this was not a sustainable position from which to develop a key industry.

Across the political divide we have as a common cause the interests of the horseracing and greyhound racing industries. However, we must ensure the provisions at paragraphs (f), (e), (d) and (a) stand up to scrutiny. I do not understand why the Government is not going after the online capture. I would like further clarification as to how these provisions will translate in real terms. I do not understand why the taxpayer through the Exchequer should continue to fund the industry directly through the provision of prize money. We all understand it is an extensive industry and support the aims of Horse Racing Ireland, but we must ensure tax is captured from the punter and anybody who makes a bet whether it is online or through bookies offices on-street.

I speak for people like Mrs. Bambury in Mallow, who is a second-generation bookmaker but who does not have an online presence. The levy is being collected and yet there are bookmakers in Mallow - which has its own racecourse - which have an on-street and online presence also. There is a disparity between the collection from the on-street presence and the lack of a collection from the online presence. We should go after the online betting and we need to go after the exchanges. It is disingenuous for certain celebrities to push the exchanges as being somehow very egalitarian in their outlook. Our interpretation is that, by their very nature, the exchanges will pay out the prize money, which is fair enough. However, it will be the Exchequer - the taxpayer - which pays the prize money at the racing stadia and so on. We need to introduce a level playing pitch here. I am not clear as to the various paragraphs. We need a proper analysis. Perhaps we should look at the French model in terms of collection. The submission by Mr. Kavanagh to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was an in-depth one and there was an actual willingness on the part of Horse Racing Ireland to engage on the issue of capturing more revenue through more imaginative means. I ask for a response to that point from the Minister of State.

I am conscious of time. HRI made a presentation to the committee today. There are 9,530 registered breeders in Ireland, some 15% are overseas investors and 92% own fewer than five mares. There were 416 stallions at stud in 2008, of which 362 stood for a fee of €7,000 or less. We must support the industry but we must also ensure that such support does not militate against the taxpayer. The industry must find more imaginative ways to fund the prize money henceforth.

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