Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to go back to harness racing and trying to get it off the ground. I wish to follow up on the point Senator Lawlor made about Dundalk racecourse. Harness racing could and should use that facility rather than try to establish a new track. The racecourse facility in Dundalk is ideal for harness racing.

In the five races that were held, there was total betting of €850,000 and with the 2% betting tax that is €17,000 in revenue. This industry might not be able to self-finance but it has the potential to contribute to its upkeep if it could get off the ground. I am in the Oireachtas three years and those interested in harness racing have been knocking on my door for those three years. I do not know whether they were making representations before that.

The French have put their money where their mouth is for this industry. They have put money on the table. One can only keep an industry like that for so long in the embryo stage. If we do not take a concrete step it will not develop. One race meeting a year is not enough for people to keep horses or for the industry to develop. If we do not expand on harness racing activity in 2019 the project will go backwards rather than forwards. A number of individuals have put significant effort into it. They have produced a strategic plan. I do not doubt the Minister who said it was not ready for budget time, but they said that was not the case. Lobby groups can always stretch the truth a bit. We will not get into an argument about when the plan was put on the table.

Unless we make a meaningful contribution to this industry it will go backwards. The representatives have put an awful lot of work into it. They have shown that the industry can attract betting from outside the country and we need to make a commitment to it. The figure of €850,000 on five races in Dundalk was a substantial amount of betting. It is significant that it could be achieved on a once-off occasion. We talked about provincial race tracks on several occasions today and they would not generate such betting on the tote in five or six meetings let alone five races. Unless we take a step forward I am afraid this aspect of horse racing will take many steps backwards.