Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 19 November 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Operational Matters and Corporate Plans of Horse Racing Ireland: Discussion

Photo of Paul DalyPaul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the outset, it is important for me to record that I am the chairman of Kilbeggan racecourse and a horse breeder and owner. I thank Mr. Hartery and Mr. Kavanagh for their presence here today and for their comprehensive report. I would like Mr. Kavanagh to elaborate on some of the points he has made.

I welcome the Deloitte report. It should be read by anyone who is not in the circle and does not have a hands-on position in racing. Mr. Kavanagh has highlighted figures which show that jobs are being created in serious numbers and a serious amount of money is being circulated in parts of rural Ireland where there are not many other opportunities. The numbers of people attending race meetings and the betting figures are very positive. I am delighted to hear such statistics and I welcome them. Do we have any idea of the kind of age profile of those whose attendances are leading to the increased figures? What cohort of people are we talking about? Are foreign tourists coming in? Have we harnessed a new Irish support base? Are younger people coming in? Is there further potential to be harnessed in this regard?

I could not agree more with what Mr. Kavanagh said about the funding needs of the Irish Equine Centre in Johnstown. Does he have any idea of how much a redevelopment project at the centre would cost? If his wish list is accepted by the Minister, how does he propose that Horse Racing Ireland will come up with its side of the funding? I do not doubt that additional funding would be needed. I doubt that 100% funding would be provided.

As a representative of Kilbeggan, which is a small racetrack, I would like to ask about one of the major sources of income in racing at the moment, which is media rights. These moneys are keeping many of the small racetracks going. Brexit has been mentioned. Where does Mr. Kavanagh envisage that media rights will go? Are they under threat with Brexit in mind? At the moment, the Racing UK channel is what it says on the tin. It is possible, depending on how Brexit turns out, that the UK authorities will go on a solo run. As Mr. Kavanagh has highlighted, they seem to be putting the foundations in place to promote their own industry. If the links are not as strong after Brexit, does he believe this will be an issue for one of our major sources of funding on the ground?

That is it for the moment. I compliment Mr. Kavanagh, Mr. Hartery and their team on the great work they are doing. I suppose they are preaching to the converted here. As I have said, it is important for other members of the committee to read the Deloitte report, which contains startling figures with regard to job creation in parts of rural Ireland where there are not many other employment opportunities.

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