Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the allocation and I know how important it is. I will not expand on the views I put forward on Second Stage of the Horse Racing Ireland (Amendment) Bill, as they were very sincerely held. The level of support I have received for some of the things I said suggests that HRI needs to come down to earth. It is getting a lot of money from the State, but how much money did it raise on its own? It is all State money, and that is why I made the pitch for the small tracks and everything else. I pointed out the 90% versus 30% equation, which is there in black and white. The Irish Harness Racing Association was before the committee and made a very compelling case, but it would be a huge input. I agree with Senator O'Neill that the association deals with sport horses, but HRI had an input into it. Is there an elitism involved here? Point-to-points are essential across rural Ireland and I have three of them dotted around my area.