Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Ferris said he could not support this. Does he consider harness racing to be under HRI? Harness racing could be under sport horses, for which there is a totally different fund. We are very proud of our sport horses but have lost a lot of our world status for breeding them, so I ask the Minister to continue to pay attention to that.

I welcome this allocation of funds because in Carlow-Kilkenny we have some of the most successful trainers in Ireland, especially in National Hunt. It is not about headline tracks like the Curragh or Leopardstown but the point-to-points that take place in every parish around Ireland during the winter and the jobs that the horse and greyhound industries create in rural Ireland. The €59.2 million for HRI provides 14,000 jobs and the fund of €14.8 million for Bord na gCon creates 10,000 jobs. Indecon has done a report on both amounts of money, but has there ever been a value-for-money audit by the Department on these funds to determine whether we are getting value for the investment? Harness racing has a case, but it comes under a completely different fund as HRI is for thoroughbred horses.