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

I appreciate that. I know the full levy and I know HRI is constrained, but I am not, and I wish to make that clear to the witnesses. Mr. Kavanagh pointed out the mechanics and logistics of the method by which the levy is calculated, but it is absolutely mad and absolute nonsense. A four year old child in a school would not come up with it. It is such nonsense that the case in the District Court was lost. I can speak about it. HRI appealed to the Circuit Court, and I know what happened in the Circuit Court. The Circuit Court is seeking clarification on the case from the Supreme Court and, as far as I know, HRI is dead set against it going there. I know the witnesses cannot talk about this but I will raise it because if that is the position, it is an important legal issue. If the Circuit Court, as I understand it, is in a position to seek a determination regarding a legal issue - I know what the legal issue is - one should only be charged on what one actually pays, not on a putative thing whereby somebody says it was €5,000 and it turns out to be only €1,500. Perhaps I am incorrectly informed in this regard, although I do not think I am. This is common sense.

This may not have been introduced by the HRI. It was introduced back in 1999, 2000 or thereabouts. I have raised this in the Dáil already so I am not coming to this after the fact but before the fact, and it is wrong. It must be addressed in the interest in fairness. I know Mr. Kavanagh explained this with tables or graduated it, in fairness, and his colleague at the accountancy end of it says that the lower bands represent 6% of revenue but 27% of foals. Nevertheless, if something is wrong in principle, it is wrong for the small person, the big person and everyone else. We must stop fiddly-faddlying about and get on with this and deal with it.

Other than that, I wish HRI and the board well going forward. I have had my arguments with them, but now it is time we put our heads down to ensure that this important industry continues to progress.