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

As a committee we are looking at the horse industry as a potentially rich resource but the industry will not invest unless it gets a return. Can the representatives come back in due course and tell the committee that if a certain amount is invested, some return will be made directly and some indirectly? At the end of the day that is how it will have to be measured because money is scarce. I understand all the social issues and so on but let us park those for a while. If there were a straight investment, what would we get in return? With people queueing up with ideas for Government, should the industry be in that queue and can it justify the investment? Intrinsically, one would imagine it would because there are a number of natural advantages. One thing I see all the time is that the success of native industries can be attributed to a natural resource or, more important, human capital - a particular expertise or knowledge that people bring to it where there can be an international advantage. Obviously, if one could get both going together, it is likely that one could turn out a very successful industry. However, we need quantification.