Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for coming before the committee to discuss this issue. The Fianna Fáil Party will be supporting the regulations and we believe it is important to provide this financial support and stimulus to the horse racing and greyhound sectors. Both have reaped the dividends in the past years. As the Minister rightly pointed out, our horse racing and horse breeding industry here is among the best in the world. What has been done since the late 1960s in terms of how the industry has been transformed is a story that goes beyond what anyone could have expected. Funding is central to continuing development. I think that is important and we will certainly support what is being done. As the Minister indicated, the recent report conducted by Deloitte on behalf of Horse Racing Ireland outlines how the sector and the industry benefit the economy as a whole. What is important is that the benefits are spread throughout the regions. Those benefits are an important to rural areas. It is often forgotten that the majority of breeders run small operations.

Likewise, funding for the greyhound industry is very important. The Minister referred to the greyhound industry Bill. It is important that this Bill is expedited. Will he provide an update on the timeline relating to it?

Senator Paul Daly touched on the issue of the betting tax. I would be interested in further feedback on the assessment from the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Finance on the impact the extension of the tax to online betting has had. Is all online betting being taxed? This is primarily a matter for the Department of Finance. However, I would like to hear the Minister's views on his engagement with that Department as to how matters might proceed.

Senator Paul Daly also referred to how labour is treated in the horse racing sector in particular. It is important that work done in the sector should be regarded as agricultural activity. It is also important that there be flexibility in work practices in order to ensure that the type work done in training yards is included in such activity. I know that is an issue and I would like to hear the Minister's comments on it.

There has been a tradition of harness racing in Ireland but it has not been as popular here in recent years as has been the case in countries such as France, where it is very significant part of the horse racing industry. This matter was discussed by the committee in 2015 and, following on from that, Indecon was commissioned to conduct a report to establish the potential for expanding and supporting harness racing in Ireland. Indecon made certain recommendations in its report. Will the Minister expand on how those recommendations have been progressed? I am of the view that work in this regard has been much too slow. It is important that the Indecon recommendations be considered.

Representatives from the Irish Harness Racing Association have met most members to discuss the Indecon recommendations. One of these is to the effect that seed funding be provided to the Irish Harness Racing Association in order to enable it to act on the recommendations and develop the sector. In order to facilitate the latter, the report suggests that the association establish a race track. There are important timelines involved in the context of enabling the sector to grow. Will the Minister outline where he wishes to bring harness racing and provide a commitment to the effect that the recommendations will be acted upon and that seed funding will be made available in order to facilitate development?