Mr. Brian Kavanagh:

There is a lot in that and many very good points. I will start with the Acting Chairman's point about dependence on the UK. We are a little like the beef and cheddar markets in that almost 50% of our production of thoroughbred horses is for what is called national hunt racing, or jump racing. While the Senator is right that racing is a worldwide activity, jump racing to any significant degree is generally confined to Britain, Ireland and France. That is the difficulty we have in recreating that market. It is an area we are particularly concerned about because while the WTO tariffs do not apply to animals sold for breeding purposes, which is some comfort for our bloodstock sector, they do apply to animals that are sold for purposes other than breeding, that is, geldings. These go to the jumps market in Britain, which is a significant market and we have a significant dependence.

As for the flat produce, which is the more global activity, Ireland has been very good at exploiting international markets and we need to do more in that respect. In recent years the Australian market has opened up for horses that are bred to run over longer distances, that is, stayers. The biggest race in Australia on the flat is the Melbourne Cup and four years ago, the first ten horses to finish in that race were bred in Ireland; therefore, there is a significant export trade. It is a competitive market, however, between France, New Zealand, Australia, ourselves and other countries. We need to work significantly in that area.

In response to Senator Paul Daly's question about what we are and could be doing, the point made by Mr. Comer earlier is very valid. We have to make alliances beyond Britain and we have been doing this. We have to make alliances in Europe at both political and, from our point of view, business level. We have had discussions with the thee principal racing authorities in Europe: Britain, France and Ireland. I am pleased to say their interests are aligned. Further than that, we have engaged with all of the other racing authorities in 28 European and Mediterranean countries to ensure they are supportive of our desire to retain as much of the status quo as we can. While racing may not be a big industry in Austria or Belgium, they have the same effectiveness at EU level as Britain, France or Germany or some of the bigger countries. We have engaged with the racing authorities and they are writing to their Commissioners and Ministries for Agriculture about the requirement to maintain the status quo.

The system that has developed in the thoroughbred sector is very sophisticated and has been in place for 50 or 60 years. There is full identification of animals and very strict measures in the areas of full disease control and prevention, operated by the host racing and breeding authorities. All animals are registered in a registered stud book. They all have similar documentation between countries. The status quois very good, particularly between the three countries that have this tripartite agreement, which means that if a horse is racing in France, it can just turn up at the port or airport and travel. That is a key area of activity for us and is our main priority. The free movement of animals needs to continue, if only from a welfare point of view, quite apart from any commercial aspects.

As Mr. Comer said, we do not see any positives in Brexit for our sector. One possible lifeline is the Northern Ireland link and the fact that racing is run on a Thirty-two county basis. As we operate a single stud book between Ireland and Britain, it is very difficult to unravel all of that. It is practically next to impossible and it would be stupid to unravel something that works very well. We have full alignment from the Northern Ireland authorities on racing, breeding and racecourses and they want the status quoto remain. They are fully aligned to our interests, as indeed are the British authorities. They do not want to get involved in operating horse racing in Northern Ireland. I hope that we can find some sort of solution in that area. The other area is the whole question of tariffs. As I mentioned earlier, we want a tariff-free trade to continue to operate between Britain and ourselves. There is some comfort on the breeding animals side of things.

Senator Paul Daly asked about tourism. We have not seen any negative effect so far. Our last big race meeting was Punchestown, which is of great attraction to international visitors. It had a record number of UK visitors. That is not to say that as the summer season unfolds there will not be an impact from the fact that it is now more expensive for British people to come and spend time in Ireland.

Overall, sometimes people view racing as the sport of kings and something of a marginal activity. In Ireland, however, through natural advantages and Government support down through the years, we have been able to create a significant rural industry. There is significant employment in rural economies where there might be no alternative employment. Alan Dukes did a study some years ago where he took four towns around the country, one for example being Bagenalstown in County Carlow. Within a ten-mile radius of Bagenalstown there were 450 full-time jobs in the horse racing and breeding industry, be they in feed suppliers, vets, trainers or stud farms. If someone created a factory with 450 people employed in Bagenalstown it would have a significant impact. This is largely fuelled by international investment. People invest in Ireland because our soil structure is good and our people are good with horses. We ask the politicians to ensure that the voice of this industry is heard in the Brexit debate and that it is adequately protected.

As I said, we are making the alliances we can with our international counterparts and we have confidence that our politicians and negotiators in Europe who are very skilled in this area, would also take account of something that is a great Irish success story and needs to be protected.

Some comfort can be taken from the fact that the British and French authorities are aligned in our interest. We are preparing a joint document to go to the European Commission on protection of the tripartite status of free movement of animals. However, it is a major worry for us. It is uncertainty that causes most concern to people.