Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to welcome Mr. Kavanagh and his staff, as well as the chairman of Horse Racing Ireland and some of the board members. We have had a number of discussions about the appointment of Mr. Kavanagh. It is recognised that not everything was done in accordance with proper governance. However, I, for one, would like to move on to discuss where the industry is going in future. This is a very important industry for the country so we should focus on Mr. Kavanagh's objectives for the next couple of years and how they will be achieved.

Mr. Kavanagh's submission contains a table with figures I find surprising. Thankfully, virtually all the first page refers to positive increases. The only place one sees negativity is in some of the betting figures. As a person who goes racing, I would not have thought there was an increase in national hunt runners. I am not doubting the accuracy of those figures but we can see that the number of runners, especially in bumper races, has declined significantly. According to that table, however, there has been a 4.1% increase in national hunt runners in the calendar year. While that is welcome, I am surprised by it, although I am not querying HRI's figures.

The figures for on-course bookmaker betting and the betting ring all show negative downturns. I want to ask Mr. Kavanagh a few questions about betting taxes and what he feels is the right direction to take. Is an increase in the betting levy the route to go? If it was increased where would HRI spend the extra revenue?

I have concerns about the survival of track bookmakers. The level of turnover and number of people participating in the trade are dropping dramatically. I live very near a racecourse and 15 years ago the ring would be full of bookmakers on a race day. Now, however, it is only one quarter full. Track bookmakers are an integral part of the industry, yet they are being asked to compete on an unfair playing pitch with the multinationals. It is unfair to apply the same level of taxation to track bookmakers as to Ladbrokes or Chronicle. This matter needs to be addressed urgently because if track bookmakers disappear, we will lose much of the culture and atmosphere at our racetracks. Machines have played a part in taking money out of the ring, but we should incentivise on-course bookmaking. I would like to hear Mr. Kavanagh's views on an increased betting levy and what proposals he has for track bookmakers.

I was glad to hear that Horse Racing Ireland has put more money into the point-to-point sector. Perhaps Mr. Kavanagh can elaborate on that investment because a lot of small breeders take their horses there for a first outing. Hopefully small breeders will have success in selling horses on to major owners from the point-to-point field. I would like Mr. Kavanagh to elaborate on what kind of revenue has been put into the point-to-point sector.

Mr. Kavanagh said that most country courses only operate in the summer months and do not have the expense of winter racing and resultant staff costs. However, some small country courses, including the one nearest my front door, are completely involved in winter racing. Such courses are a very important part of our national hunt industry, although attendances are extremely poor, especially at Thursday meetings. Only for the SIS there is no way they would survive financially. Better track facilities are needed on a cold November or January day than on a summer evening.

I would hope that Horse Racing Ireland would look at those tracks that concentrate on winter racing. I am referring to provincial tracks that provide Thursday racing, which is very important for the horses that will never be heading to Cheltenham but may win a small race on a provincial race track. I would like to see that those courses are not neglected in the overall plan and that there will be something in HRI's proposals to help them to survive.

Mr. Kavanagh talked about Brexit and the impact that decision is going to have on us and on the industry. The bloodstock industry has not featured in our discussions on Brexit. It is something we might want to give more consideration to. Considering the week that is in it next week, with the British handicapper and his treatment of our horses going over to Cheltenham, that might be something that should come into the Brexit negotiations - fair play is good play. If there was one that got through the net and was well handicapped it would be nice to know.

In general, those figures in a time when our country is only coming out of recession and money is still scarce, all those positive figures on the table Mr. Kavanagh provided show that something is going in the right direction. That has to be recognised as well.