Paul Bradford (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Heffernan for sharing time and I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Normally we have rather sedate debates in this House but there has been a disturbing vein of thought throughout this debate because people are concerned.

There are positive and good aspects of the industry. The number of owners are still very strong and we have fine internationally renowned trainers. We have new facilities, new tracks and the numbers going greyhound racing are such that the horseracing industry would like to have similar numbers attend horseracing meetings. To put things in perspective, that element is very solid.

The business structure is the focus of our concern. Members are asking questions on what the Minister of State is doing. Let me remind my colleagues that Deputy Hayes was appointed in 2013 and he is not yet 12 months in the job. I am more concerned about what action will finally be taken to address the issue. The Minister of State should be allowed the time he needs to do the job. He has commissioned a report which he expects to receive in the next two months or thereabouts. We must be fair and wait to see what is in that report. My colleagues have put their concerns on record and we all have received e-mail correspondence in the past days outlining deep concerns.

There is no need for me to repeat them as they have been said already. However, I am interested in the Minister of State's response.

The previous contributor spoke about the board and raised pertinent points, not just about Bord na gCon but also about the way we appoint members to every board in the country. I am not referring to this Government or the previous one but to every government when i say that the message that must leave the House is a call to ensure that anybody appointed to a State board, whether political or non-political, and there is no sense in being political, must be qualified, able and have a deep and profound knowledge of and interest in the activities of the board to which they are to be appointed.

I look forward to the Minister of State's reply. More important, I look forward to the results of the report that has been commissioned. We must ensure taxpayers' money is well spent and is used to the advantage of the industry, those employed by it and the people whom it will employ in the years to come. We have read the media reports, the Minister of State has heard the comments made here today and we have studied the work done by the Committee of Public Accounts. To put it mildly, there are disturbing issues that must be addressed. I have every confidence the Minister of State is putting in place actions to answer the queries and resolve the problems that may exist. I look forward to the initial reply by the Minister of State but also to his substantial reply and action that will follow receipt of the report. I wish him well in his important endeavours.