Mr. Andy Harkness:

Rásaíocht Con Éireann was established to provide a statutory basis for the control, regulation and development of greyhound racing in the State. Organisationally, it operates a group structure comprising the statutory body and four subsidiary companies. It operates racing at nine tracks around the State and oversees racing at a number of privately owned or operated tracks.

Rásaíocht Con Éireann operates in one of the sectors most affected by restrictions put in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its results for 2020 were substantially affected and a full recovery of activities was not achieved in 2021. As a result, Rásaíocht Con Éireann incurred a loss of €1.4 million in respect of tote betting and other race-related activities in 2021. This followed a loss from those activities of €1.8 million in 2020, and compares with a surplus of €400,000 generated from racing activities in 2019.

Rásaíocht Con Éireann relies substantially on Exchequer funding, and received €19.2 million in 2021, up from €16.8 million in 2020. This funding was sourced from the Agriculture, Food and the Marine Vote via the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund. The other main source of income in the year was the contributions from owners and sponsors towards racing prize money, totalling €1.9 million.

On the expenditure side, Rásaíocht Con Éireann incurred costs totalling €16.7 million in 2021. This included €8 million paid out in prize money, €3.3 million spent on racing regulation, welfare, and integrity costs and €1.4 million spent on marketing and promotion. Overall, Rásaíocht Con Éireann made a surplus for the year of €3 million. The 2021 group financial statements received a clear audit opinion.