Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister was a little more measured in his response to colleagues than I would have been. Senator Ó Domhnaill's comments were reckless and potentially extremely damaging. He began by paying lip service to economic activity in the industry before going on to suggest its funding should be cut. His attitude is not altogether surprising given the proposal by his party in a pre-budget submission last year that there be a reduction of €10 million in the allocation for the horse and greyhound racing fund. That proposal, if implemented, would have decimated the industry. The Senator also lamented the loss of revenue from the betting industry, without mentioning the successive reductions in the duty that were introduced by Fianna Fáil governments for whatever reason and in the context of whatever linkages it had to the betting industry.

The horse racing industry never wanted to be in a situation where it would be reliant on taxpayer funding. On the contrary, it was happy to be a stand-alone entity in its own right, with betting revenues matching State funding. It is not the industry's fault that it is now in this position. In that regard, I welcome the proposed extension of betting duty to online betting. It must be done sooner rather than later. I understand it is being examined by the Department of Finance, but it is frustrating that it has taking so long to bring it forward. I agree that once that change is implemented, we must then have a debate on whether we should review the rate. It is very difficult to justify the decision to reduce it from 2% to 1% in 2006, whatever about previous cuts.

The Minister indicated that in excess of 90% of horse breeders own four mares or fewer. Many of them come from my own county of Kildare. It is important to note that this section of economic activity is happening in areas where there is very little other economic activity. The horse racing industry is the second largest employer in Kildare, which is an indication of how much it is worth and how much it feeds into other areas. Picking up on what the Minister said in his presentation, on the one hand we have a strengthening bloodstock industry on the sales end. Irish horses are making very good prices which has, in turn, a benefit for the overall Exchequer in sales terms. However, to maintain a vibrant racing sector, we must keep those horses in the country. My concern is that the best horses, which are being sold for the best prices, are being exported. If we do not keep these animals in training here, there will be a knock-on effect on jobs. Will the Minister comment on his recent visit to Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East where he met some of those high net worth individuals we need to target as the next major funders of the industry into the future?

The changes in European law in regard to VAT are a major concern for the breeding industry. It is somewhat frustrating that the Minister is obliged to come in here every year to discuss the allocation for the horse and greyhound racing fund. This ongoing dependency and uncertainty as to how much money the Minister can win at the Cabinet table is causing stagnation in the industry. Everybody in the industry would accept that we need to move to a more sustainable model of funding. It is very difficult for the industry to plan from year to year for the larger capital projects that need to be done. Perhaps this committee has a role to play in examining international best practice as part of our work programme. Adopting a multi-annual approach to funding would be useful, and I understand the Minister is already doing significant work in exploring that issue.

In the context of the Indecon report, will the Minister indicate when he expects the relevant legislative changes to come before Cabinet? There is great anticipation among those involved in the industry regarding this matter.