Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the chairman and representatives of Bord na gCon. The programme we saw last Wednesday night week was very disturbing for those of us who love our greyhounds. Nobody who loves the sport of greyhound racing or the animals would support any of the practices seen on the programme. I watched it with a group of individuals and every one of us was horrified by what we saw. Those actions cannot be condoned. We are here to discuss the greyhound industry and Bord na gCon, but the programme definitely shook public confidence in the industry. I welcome the presentation by the chairman and the ongoing actions that are, and were, being taken by the board. Those actions did not start on the Wednesday night the programme was shown, but the board has a serious job of work to do now to restore public confidence in our industry and to show people that dogs are well looked after and cared for.

I will talk about RTÉ shortly. The vast majority of dog owners look after their dogs extremely well. However, to restore public confidence we must establish a database similar to the one we have for bovines. It must be a very accurate database and there can be no room for any errors in it, so that if an inspector visits a kennel, he will know there should be five, six, seven or eight dogs in the kennel because they are recorded and in a log book for that kennel. If a dog is moved on, sold or if it gets badly injured and has to be euthanised, all such actions will be reported within a period of seven days to the relevant authorities. That is essential. Figures that were mentioned in the programme are quoted in the chairman's statement, such as almost 6,000 dogs being unaccounted for. Mr. Nyhan said he does not agree with the figure, but the time has come where we must be able to account for the dogs properly and show the public exactly where dogs are. That must happen.

The export of dogs and the sale of dogs in this country keep the financial side of the business going. Without the export of dogs the industry would not be financially viable. This committee framed legislation in the last few months that went to the Dáil late in May. The Attorney General's advice to us at the time was that we could not control the export of dogs and that if a dog was sent to the UK we have no control over where that dog finally ends up.

This is an issue we will have to address. If a country to which a dog goes does not have the proper welfare standards, we must try to find some mechanism to stop animals reaching those countries. Department officials should visit countries - I am referring in particular to Pakistan - where there is a market for dogs and see what standards apply. If the standards in a particular country are not up to those that obtain here, we should try to find a mechanism to prevent the sale of dogs to that country. I do not know how this can be done legally but we will have an added complication because it seems a virtual certainty that the UK will be outside the EU in a couple of months. How can we impose our will on the dog owners of the UK? The latter has a very good record as regards animal welfare in general and I would hope that through negotiations with the relevant authorities in the UK, a mechanism might be introduced to control or ban the export of dogs to countries where welfare standards are not up to standard.

One of the disturbing aspects of the television programme related to dogs being dragged into a knackery and then shot. As has rightly been stated, that has no place in the industry. If a dog has suffered a serious injury and needs to be euthanised, it has to be done under the control of a vet. There are no circumstances where we can condone putting down a healthy dog. That is something everyone in the industry accepts. Increased money has gone towards welfare in the past number of years but in the report, I see that percentages of different sources of income will be devoted to the care of greyhounds. This is a step forward. Our guests have provided figures regarding the money that has been spent up to now but there could be a levy on various income sources. Most of our greyhound stadia have restaurants, many of which have service charges for different things. There should be a levy charged in respect of the entertainment in those hospitality units in order to provide extra funding for the welfare fund that needs to be put in place. Our guests also stated that they want to ring-fence a percentage of the €16 million the Exchequer provides for the industry for dog welfare. All those points should go a long way towards restoring public confidence.

A couple of weeks ago, officials from the Department appeared before us to discuss cruelty to horses and dogs. Animal welfare relates to more than greyhounds. Earlier today, we discussed the responses we received from the Department concerning the welfare of horses. Unfortunately, there are plenty of issues there. There are many instances of cruelty to horses. Again, the legislation that is there must be complied with. Regarding dog welfare, illegal hunting is happening and is a serious animal welfare issue. There are groups of people who go around the country with bands of lurchers and who have no respect for other animals. This matter also needs to be addressed. We have been told that the legislation is there to allow gardaí and dog wardens to stamp it out but, unfortunately, the resources are not there. This is an issue that also needs to be highlighted. There are people who have no respect for law and order who are marauding throughout the countryside and engaging in illegal activity. That has to be eradicated immediately.

The integrity of the sport has received a lot of media attention. As stated earlier, the legislation that passed through the Houses of the Oireachtas in May will hopefully allow us to enforce the regulations that exist. There have been a few cases whereby the dogs of high-profile people in the industry were found with a substance in them and the penalties one would expect to see imposed were not imposed. The programme broadcast the other night named one prominent trainer and stated that there were two other cases before the courts. It is essential for the integrity of the industry that anyone found guilty of having a prohibited substance should face the full rigours of the law. There can be no place in the sport for people who dope greyhounds. One man mentioned in the programme was found in possession of a large number of illegal substances. I presume this must go through the criminal process. Everyone is entitled to a trial and I am not taking that away from any individual but if that individual is found guilty, there must be very severe penalties for him or her. We need lengthy bans and lengthy suspension because we have had high-profile cases. The previous law dated back to 1958 and was not strong enough to enforce the regulations but we have passed fresh legislation and the public expects and demands that anyone who has been found guilty of acts of doping will be dealt with fully, suffer suspension and be put outside the gates of the sport. We have seen that happen in our horse-racing industry whereby high-profile trainers who were found with illegal substances on their premises suffered lengthy suspensions. The same thing must happen in the greyhound industry.

Regarding balance in the programme, when footage is being shown, the one thing one would see is the date on which that footage was shot. I thought it strange that the programme did not state on which date the activities shown in that footage happened. Leaving that aside, the activities shown in the footage took place regardless of whether they were recent or they happened ten or 12 years ago. They happened so we cannot argue with that. In the interests of fairness, the time when they happened should have been stated in the programme.

The other aspect about which I was disappointed in the context of balance was the fact that Bord na gCon was denied the opportunity to contribute to the programme. In any programme, in order to get a fair balanced view, both sides should get a fair hearing. It was unfortunate that this did not happen. I am a dog owner and enjoy my sport but I want to be part of a sport that can hold its head up high and say it is run correctly and that welfare issues and integrity are addressed fully. Over the past couple of years, the board has been advancing issues but the programme has highlighted areas where improvements need to be made. The database must be set up and must be foolproof. We must ensure that the legislation enacted in May ensures that people who breach the rules of the game face the full rigours of the law. I would like the industry to enter into discussions with the UK authorities to see whether it is possible for the UK to prevent the export of dogs to countries where standards are not the same as our standards.

As I said, the lifeblood of our industry is the sale of our dogs to the UK. If that was prohibited, the industry would not be financially viable. That is not an option. The UK's record as regards welfare standards are so high that it should be possible to get it to bring in legislation that would prevent dogs from going to countries where standards are not up to what we would demand.