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

The HRI wants to get its hands on it. We see that in the Bill. We want accountability. The Minister has worked hard on this, but I want to make sure the dead hand of bureaucracy does not stymie an activity that is carried out by volunteers and has been very successful across the country. That is what I see at Castletown Geoghegan, Doory or anywhere else I go. The €59.2 million is a great amount of money and the Minster has succeeded, in very difficult times, in securing it. I know the fight HRI put up for it, but let us ask HRI, under the sport horses head, for a small initial fund for the Irish Harness Racing Association so that it is recognised for its efforts. It could become a money spinner, as is the case in France, where it is big business.

I got so tied up with two or three points in the last meeting that I forgot to make a very important point. Again, it is on behalf of the small person. There are several powerful people across Ireland who can do what they like and come in and out of the country at the drop of a hat, but I am thinking of the little people with two or three mares. We are one of the few EU countries with a foal levy, and there may be reasons for it, but it is constructed on the advertised value of the stallion. More often than not, if a stallion is advertised at €10,000 or €15,000, this is negotiated down to €5,000, but HRI then states that the levy is on the advertised value. It forces the small person to pay a percentage which does not reflect the reality of the deal. What republic would force its people to do that? I understand it is for simplicity of administration of the thoroughbred market, but it is not fair at a time when there is very little for the man or woman with two or three mares. They are trying to get the best breeding, but most have animals worth less than €10,000, and only those at the top have sires between €75,000 and €100,000.