Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and acknowledge their opening statement. Many issues have been covered regarding the infrastructure, the care fund and the IT upgrade, which are all very positive steps. I want to ask about the promotion of the dog racing industry and how we are faring on that level. One of the major races in my part of the world, the Irish Laurels, took place two weeks ago. There was a fantastic crowd and it was a massive success for my parish, given the winning trainer for the last two Laurels came from my small parish. However, I failed to see a picture published in any newspaper, very little press and no acknowledgement of one of the major sporting events in the calendar in my county. I am concerned about the current promotion of dog racing, whether the media are onside or offside, and whether there is a strategy in place to develop those connections with the media to try to promote the sport. I am deeply concerned by what I saw, given a small parish won the Laurels two years in a row and there was no picture in the local newspapers. This was deeply upsetting for the owner, the community and the trainer. I am concerned about where the strategy is going. Do the witnesses believe the media have simply turned against us and turned against the dog racing industry? Where do we now turn to promote dog racing?