Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State and his officials and thank him for his comprehensive report. As Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill said, his final remarks sum up the whole issue. The contribution the industry makes to rural Ireland, in particular, goes without saying and it would be hugely detrimental if anything happened to it.

The Indecon report which was published a year and a half ago appears to be the blueprint for the future of the whole industry. Has the Minister of State set a target for implementation of all the recommendations by a particular period? If so, is he working towards actions for, say, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 or whatever the case may be?

The Minister of State mentioned the level of debt within Bord na gCon as being €22 million, which is sizeable.

The Minister of State has mentioned the sale of the stadium at Harold's Cross would depend on a number of conditions that would have to be agreed on. What will happen if the stadium is not sold? Indecon has recommended that it forms part of the sales process. I presume the Minister of State expects that all Indecon's recommendations will be implemented. In the event the sale does not proceed and that sizeable debt remains, is there an alternative plan to reduce that level of debt? How will that happen? As the Minister of State said, a debt of €22 million is unsustainable and I agree that nobody could stand over such a debt.

The issues we have discussed today were also discussed last year. There are major legacy issues going back many years which were not been addressed previously but need to be addressed now. The Minister of State mentioned many of them, including the level of debt. He also mentioned new legislation. Senator Ó Domhnaill asked him about the timescale involved but I know the Minister of State cannot state a particular time. Will the legislation target specific areas? The Minister of State said there seemed to be a difficulty with communications in the set-up. Will the legislation target that particular area? Will it improve the communications strategy? Will it require that a consultation process takes place on an ongoing basis?

The Minister of State rightly pointed out that the extra funding this year and last year was welcomed by the industry. Will that extra funding be conditional on going in a certain direction? I think the Minister of State mentioned the extra funding going towards prize money, although he did not specifically say all the funding will go towards prize money. Perhaps I missed the point he made. Is the funding earmarked for use in specific areas?

There has not been major capital investment in some of the grounds or stadia in the recent past due to the economic climate. Are there plans over the next period of time to upgrade the facilities that were not upgraded in recent times?