Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Meaney mentioned the sale of Harold's Cross and that the sale would involve the partial implementation of some recommendations.

In regard to regulation and testing, there is a public perception that doping is widespread in the greyhound industry. An expert on doping gave evidence to the committee a week ago. What sanctions will be imposed against trainers and owners if greyhounds test positive? How will the board ensure that it can stand over any testing carried out and that tests will not be liable to legal challenge? How will it ensure that the person in charge of a dog which tests positive will bear the brunt of whatever sanctions it puts in place?

The industry has lost significant ground in terms of the public perception regarding regulation and doping. Mr. Meaney may quote figures in respect of the low percentage of positive tests. Those figures are correct but the public perception is completely different. A highly-publicised case on a major race night a couple of years ago led to a lengthy court case. The board was on the wrong side in that case. When this Bill is implemented, we must ensure that the tests carried out - at coursing events or race nights or in the context of sales - will be comprehensive and that the full rigours of the law will be brought to bear in respect of any positive results. If this is done, the public will recognise that an enforceable regime is in place and the industry can show a clean image to the world.

I appreciate that there is a very low level of doping at present. Trainers have alleged that some doping cases are due to contaminated food. How will that matter be addressed in the context of imported food? What can be done if a trainer says that a dog's positive test resulted from its regular diet and through no fault of his or hers?

There is a view that many of the transgressions of recent years have been the result of the feed given to the greyhounds. Will a level of tolerance apply in the context of doping? How will this issue be addressed to restore public confidence in the greyhound racing industry?

We also face an uphill battle as regards public perceptions of dog welfare in the industry. Bord na gCon has not made much money available for dog welfare in recent years. How much of the organisation's budget is it proposed to invest in this area? Can a country of this size cater for the significant number of dogs that retire every year? Representatives from Dogs Trust Ireland who appeared before the joint committee some weeks ago stated that their organisation is short on funds to look after dogs when they stop racing. Members of the public expect dogs that are retired from the sport to be looked after properly. What funding will be made available to ensure that this is the case?

On the sale and export of greyhounds, how is it proposed to ensure that countries to which dogs are exported implement the standards we expect? The public perception is that some dogs are exported to countries in which standards are not at an acceptable level. It is critical that this issue is addressed. The greyhound racing industry receives significant amounts of public money. We must ensure that the countries to which greyhounds are exported apply standards that are as good, if not better, than those which apply here.