Mr. Arthur Cooper:

The Indecon report is very clear with regard to the seed funding and State funding. When we do our strategic plan, everybody might say there is no future in it but we need to get to that point. That is where the seed funding side comes in. We must be able to get to the point where the strategic plan can enable that analysis in order that this committee, the Minister and the Department can ascertain whether the area is worthy of investment. This would be an investment for the industry's future. The strategic plan will be fully costed and it will include the cost of redeveloping Portmarnock or a new track. That is what we are working towards. We accept we will not be in a position to have any form of Portmarnock redevelopment over the next eight months as by the time we do all of that, the year will disappear. We have our personal targets on what we want to achieve and that information is available.

I will comment on the integration programme. Apparently, on RTÉ this morning there was a debate on the road racing issue and how it is wrong etc. We would like to think our integration programme would be a potential solution. It will not happen overnight and this is a generational change. We are targeting those going into the activity rather than those who have done it for their entire life. If we can do it around the country in a progressive fashion and there is an ability to get horses, training programmes and a training track under the one umbrella, in the long term it will succeed. We have always argued that Europe does not have this problem because there is an established trotting industry, with an amateur driver side of things. There are equivalent operations in France, for example, who can race at meetings. From a longer-term perspective, we can make a difference, although this will not happen overnight. The return on investment will very much be part of that strategic plan. With the seed funding document we will list what we are looking for and where the economic benefits on that side will be included. As we have noted, we believe there is a massive opportunity for this country on the breeding side.

How big can harness racing be for Ireland? One must remember that on mainland Europe, this is the number one horse racing sport. It is bigger than racing thoroughbreds. Even if we just steadily increase the numbers, from a breeding perspective we could become the supplier to Europe in the long term. That is where we see a big opportunity. From a racing perspective, we would love to say we could be self-sustaining as quickly as possible but that will only come about when we have international meetings and domestic betting.

We were lucky enough a couple of years ago to have Satellite Information Services, SIS, in the UK cover our meetings and bookmakers were given an opportunity in that context. I look at schedules around the world to identify where there is an opportunity. Last year, one country said it needed trotting at certain times of the day and asked if we could supply it. I am looking for opportunities to sell our product and get our 3% back on that turnover so that we can be as self-sustaining as possible once the initial investment in the industry has been made. The development of the racing side and the international and integration programme can come together with the overall investment from the State. The long-term strategic plan will spell that out. The Indecon report is very clear in its statement on seed funding to the effect that the latter should be totally separate from State funding and that we should be entitled to it.

I like to think that we have developed a very good relationship with the Department over the three or four years we have been visiting it. There are some very understanding staff there who get what the horse racing industry involves and we have had some good conversations with them. The last time we were in there was a few days before the Indecon report came out. We did not realise it was coming out so soon. We had a very open discussion about the funding that is needed. This was followed by the Indecon report coming out. Then there was the 21 November session, then the debate in the Seanad and then it was Christmas. We wanted to see officials from the Department in December but the timetables did not work out. The Department suggested early January when we were next over. I said we would be coming to this meeting and the Department suggested we get together after this session. We will be meeting the Department's representatives tomorrow. We hope a roadmap will be put forward of what it needs in order for us to be able to move forward and go through the five recommendations. It is not just a question of horse racing. Animal welfare must also be considered and we have met the relevant officials. They are the ones we approached about the integration programme. I have been in contact with them this year on how to move forward with that. We hope the Department's door is open so that we can meet on a monthly or bimonthly basis and update it on our progress.