Mr. Dermot Weld:

We welcome the proposed amendment Bill of 2014 and hope it will be implemented as soon as possible. To survive, racing needs proper funding. The racetrack is the shop window of the breeding industry. The horse racing industry has shed up to 4,000 employees since 2008.

It has considerable employment potential as an all-island rural natural industry.

Horse racing is an excellent source of inward investment, both directly and indirectly. Having gone on Government delegations to China and then seen the excellent work that the Minister and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have done, all of this will be to no avail if we let Australia and France get ahead of us. I employ 80 staff. With a secure and properly funded industry, this can be much increased. Ireland is a world leader in this field. Let us build it for the future generations.