Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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Fáilte to Mr. Matt Dempsey and Mr. Joe Keeling. Even though they are both chairmen designate I congratulate them on their appointment. Mr. Dempsey's CV is impressive and a cursory glance at his background, commitment and active involvement in the agricultural area and agricultural science tell us that this country is blessed to have somebody of his calibre who is prepared to take on a public position such as this one. I wish him well in that regard.

I am not an expert. I am an ordinary member of the public who looks on at the activities of the National Stud. It is an awesome phenomenon that Ireland has developed over decades. The background Mr. Dempsey has provided in how it all started was very informative for me and, I am sure, other members.

I have one or two questions but I will be brief because members with more expertise than me in this area may want to raise matters with the witnesses. First, I get the impression that it is important we have quality standing stallions. Mr. Dempsey referred to one or two from the beginning including Tulyar. I am old enough to have Tulyar in the back of my mind. When Tulyar was purchased it must have been a major national story at the time. Mr. Dempsey said the amount of money involved in 1946 was £60,000, which equates to €2 million. I wonder what £125,000 in 1952 equates to now. It cannot be anything less than €84 million or €85 million. That is an extraordinary amount of money for what was a time of deep economic difficulty.

In terms of Mr. Dempsey's commitment and going forward, how does one develop a unique stallion because while he mentioned the figures for the foals and the standing stallions, one or two appear to stand out. What is the importance of that internationally in terms of the National Stud, and how will Mr. Dempsey go about developing that? Does it happen randomly or is it done by science?

Second, I am very interested in the tourist dimension, which Mr. Dempsey outlined. This is the year of The Gathering. The Queen visited the National Stud. Has Mr. Dempsey found from talking to people or from his involvement in other areas, and living in Kildare, that there has been a spin-off from that? What are the demographics in terms of the people who visit the National Stud and the Japanese Gardens? Are they "horsey" people or people who are part of a tourism package? How does Mr. Dempsey hope to develop and increase that figure? He mentioned that he hopes to do that. I wish him continued success in what is an important role for this country.