Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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It is incredible that we cannot get an answer to that question. A total of eight or nine people from the Department are present. We are giving an agency €260,000 per week. We have been here for a long period but we have been unable to get an answer to a simple question. That is absolutely incredible.

My information is that the board has not approved this. Those involved are looking to bring the board down the country to approve it. That is a Dublin board. That is my information.

It is incredible that we cannot get that simple information. It is all well and good to talk about selling tracks but we have to ensure the industry is sustainable. It is not good enough simply to embark on wiping off debt by cutting the industry to the bone. We are talking about regional tracks as well. This has been well cited in the media. We are talking about regional Ireland and regional tracks. These mean a great deal to the local economies. The integrity of greyhound racing is at stake. No decision should be made until we are able to bring Bord na gCon before the committee to explain this behaviour. We need to drill down into this. These are big assets. They mean a great deal to people and local economies. We should ensure this decision is put on hold until we can ask the right questions.