Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was struck by the comments in regard to head 6 in the submission by the Irish Bookmakers Association, because I would not have thought about bookmakers participating in the race fixtures committee. We are not supposed to talk about money and funding today, but I would appreciate some commentary from Ms Byrne or Mr. O'Kane on this point. An Irish racing fixture is worth an average of €1.3 million in turnover. However, if another fixture is taking place on the same day, it is only worth €200,000 or €300,000. The suggestion was made regarding separate days and it was noted that Mondays and Fridays are under-utilised as fixture days. I am sorry to hear from Mr. O'Kane that profits are down. As I understand it, three quarters of bookmakers' profits now come from online business, with revenue growing by 17% this year to €745 million and profits up 5% to €141 million. Online is where it is at as opposed to traditional betting shops.

My next question is for the racehorse trainers.

I am keen to hear a little commentary from Mr. Weld, Mr. Mead or Mr. Grassick. Although they did not mention it today their submission called for the licensing of a racehorse trainer to be included under the responsibility of Horse Racing Ireland and transferred to HRI from the regulatory authority. I am keen for some commentary on the last line of the relevant paragraph which states:

In particular, the existing criteria used in granting licences to both professional and restricted trainers does not at present require a structured training program therefore resulting in a reduction in proper standards, horsemanship and business acumen.

Mr. Weld mentioned something very inspirational to me earlier and perhaps he could repeat it for the other members of the committee. He said that the 29% cut in funding to the entire industry and HRI since 2008 has had a negative impact and that there are 3,000 fewer horses in training and 4,000 jobs have been lost. Each of the deputations before the committee today as well as the owners association last week have brought home the point that this wonderful industry, in which we are best-in-class in the world, is slipping and slipping fast because of the lack of funding. Will Mr. Weld repeat the story about the owners as people who produce jobs? They are an IDA Ireland or Enterprise Ireland group. This is foreign direct investment. I was having a cup of tea with the trainers earlier. Perhaps they could share their thoughts with the other members. Most of the money coming in to this industry is from abroad rather than within the State. Most of the owners are wealthy people from abroad who are creating employment and bringing in business.