Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased we had the two submissions. They were very useful. Before we ask specific questions, we must stand back and say we are in a country that has a reputation for horses. We have the land, climate and, perhaps more important, the reputation and human capital in general to make a success of this industry. It is all very intelligent to talk about attracting foreign direct investment and multinationals, as we often do, but it is equally important to consider all the natural industries we could have, or already have that could be a lot bigger and ask how we could develop and exploit them.

How does one develop the horse racing industry, from the very top to the very bottom without distinction, exploiting each sector for its potential? Rather than seeing the various elements as rivals, they should be regarded as complementary products and as part of a totality. In other words, one should sell this island as being the horse island and one of the premier places in the world for horses, be they sport horses, thoroughbred horses or horses of any other kind.

I have a technical question before I ask more generally about where we go from here.

The Irish Sports Council and Sport Northern Ireland give Horse Sport Ireland €1,531,005. How much of that comes from our brethren in the northern part of the country? Could its Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure be persuaded to come up to the plate a little bit better than it has? There seem to be many rows about UK Exchequer funding up there.

If the strategic plan were implemented fully, what would the country benefit economically from it? What annual investment is needed to implement the strategic plan? I accept the points about the social return, such as volunteerism and the enjoyment gained from equestrian sports, but it is the economic return on which we want to focus. How many jobs will be created by developing a much better domestic and international equestrian product? We need to know how important this industry could be to the country. How much do horse-related activities contribute to tourism? How many people come to Ireland to pursue horse-related tourism activities? How important are special and indigenous breeds, such as Connemara ponies and the Irish Draught, to highlighting the Irish horse as a unique product and how does this contribute to the industry?