Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Dollard and his board. I apologise for not being here earlier. I was speaking in the Dáil. I will probably cover some ground that has been covered. I have to put in my two and sixpence worth. I want to ask a few questions.

I will start by asking about animal welfare. We are all aware of the fallout from the "RTÉ Investigates" programme. Everyone was horrified by what he or she saw. It was not good enough. I am a farmer and a dog lover and was shocked by what I saw. I did not think I would be, but I was. We do not need to say any more than that. We saw a dog being thrown into hot water. I know that it was not here. It was horrible to see dogs being shot in knackeries for a tenner. All of that was uncovered. There is a lot of skullduggery in the business. I have to say it out straight that there is an onus on the board to bring this behaviour to an end. If it is not checked, it will lose out further. It is widely known that the board has already lost sponsorship as a result of the programme. As an observer, I suggest the €16.8 million in taxpayers' money that it receives every year will come into question if something is not done. The witnesses are well aware of this. What is the board doing to catch up on, or counteract, the fallout?

I would like to refer to some figures I have seen. Last year,the Irish Greyhound Board allocated just €130,000 for animal welfare. In addition, 3% of winners' prize money was set aside for this purpose. That means that a total of €364,000 was used for this purpose. In the United Kingdom £3 million from a fund of £8 million goes towards animal welfare. The Irish Greyhound Board benefits from a fund of €16.8 million of taxpayers' money. According to the figures I have seen, just €364,000 was allocated for animal welfare last year.

It does not look good for the board when we compare like with like. Is that the reason we are in this position? The general view is that if the Irish Greyhound Board does not pull up its socks and get the game right, it will be in trouble. I ask Mr. Dollard to respond to that comment first.