Mr. Brian Kavanagh:

The positive figures are encouraging at the half year stage and have continued. The vulnerability relates to the point which the Deputy touched on, namely that the British and Irish racing industries are really the one industry. If one looks at today's card at any track in the UK, more than half the horses running will be Irish-bred, having been born and bred here and sold at a younger stage in life. Many of the jockeys plying their trade in the UK are Irish. If one goes into a betting shop in the UK, one will find Fairyhouse covered in the same way as any meeting in Britain. We have been before this committee previously to discuss implications in areas such as animal movement where we have completely free movement of animals between Britain and Ireland or even across the Border under tripartite agreements. That will change following Brexit and it will become more difficult to trade. Some 1,500 mares a year come to Irish stallions from continental Europe. They come through the landbridge of the UK. Now, they will effectively come out of the EU into a third country, back into the EU to come to Ireland, then back out into a third country to go home through Britain. The fear is that continental breeders will just think that it is easier for them to send their mare to a French stallion and they can stay at home.

I have no fears about the quality of our product. The Irish horse is our biggest selling point. Irish breeders produce very good horses and no matter what incentives other countries put in, no one can take that away. However, one fear is if Britain starts putting in restrictions such as running races for British-bred horses only or they start offering premiums and additional prize money if a horse is British-bred or born rather than an Irish horse. We are seeing signs of that. Where before we would have had combined incentive schemes where premiums were paid, now there is a desire to move to a British point of view. As an industry and as a country, we have always taken a very open outlook to the industry. We are an exporting nation and our philosophy has not been to pursue restrictive policies. We would have to invest in our industry here and ensure that the equine centre is built and provides adequate disease control. We would have to look at our prize money levels relative to the UK and we would have to support our breeders with access to markets such as the UK. The industry would be up for a fight like that; the issue is that it needs support and backing to do so.