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

I thank the representatives for coming to this committee today. As I am down in the pecking order I will try to avoid repetition in the points I will cover.

At the start of the presentation the federation stated it has been in existence for over 40 years and that it is a controlling body of all greyhound owners' and breeders' associations. Can the witness indicate to the committee how many associations there are? The Minister of State spoke of a division in the industry and that the consolidation of representative groups would be useful. Does the Federation have a view on whether this proposal could be useful or not? Does the federation believe that existing and proposed measures by Bord na gCon - suggested in the strategic plan and the Indecon report - are sufficient to counteract the trend in figures of dog numbers, mating numbers and active owners? They present one key set of very worrying figures. Is the plan, from the strategic plan and the Indecon report, sufficient?

What is the federation's view on recent changes to the organisational structure, in response to the publication of the Indecon report, and has it improved the accountability and transparency at Bord na gCon? If it has not improved accountability, what does the federation think is required to make that happen? What regulatory issues remain outstanding to be addressed in terms of track ratings and other regulatory issues?

Bord na gCon commented previously on supports to the industry in the form of breeders’ payments and trainers’ incentives and that these schemes had not yielded the anticipated increase in greyhound pools. At the time, Bord na gCon invited views as to whether redirecting these moneys to other areas and rewarding a different aspect of participation in the industry would have greater long-term benefits, particularly in targeting the major drop-off in owners and how to address that. There had been two approaches; towards owners who had never been involved in the industry and towards owners with a previous connection with the industry but who had probably lapsed somewhat. What are the federation's views on the current incentive scheme proposals and what does it believe is an optimal approach to address these issues in the future? I presume the witness would concur that the owner figures are worrying, so what potential changes could be made there?