Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I was on the committee that presented the report. We had pre-legislative scrutiny and a really quite detailed report. We had people making the argument that the best thing we can do with cutaway bogs is to wet them. Planting trees is the wrong use. Perhaps Mr. Gleeson would give us that note. I am losing my patience in respect of this matter. Maybe it is just that it has annoyed me for a long time.

I want to go through a number of other issues with the Secretary General. Going back to the key policy areas, we got a number of replies from him on animal welfare and the greyhound sector. One of his responses said that Bord na gCon is a commercial State body. It may be set up as a commercial State body but would Mr. Gleeson describe it as such? Could it exist without the very large subvention that goes to it? I know it is taken in by way of the gambling tax but from memory it is about 50% of its annual revenue.