Ms Dearbhla O'Brien:

On behalf of Rásaíocht Con Éireann, RCÉ, and the wider greyhound racing industry, I thank the Chairman and members for the opportunity to address the committee today. I am accompanied by Mr. Frank Nyhan, chairperson of the board of RCÉ; Pat Herbert who is director of regulation; and William Fitzgerald who is veterinary director.

I wish to begin by acknowledging the staff of RCÉ, the approximately 6,000 trainers and owners across Ireland, and the wider greyhound community for their commitment and hard work during what has been a difficult period for the industry. As with many sectors of society, the pandemic presented unprecedented economic and organisational challenges. Income generated from gate admissions, tote operations, restaurant facilities and other areas were effectively decimated and like other sporting organisations across the country, RCÉ greatly benefited from Government supports. On behalf of the board and the wider greyhound racing community, I acknowledge the Minister’s ongoing support for our industry. These supports ensured that while tracks were closed to the public, racing still continued but more importantly, it ensured that RCÉ was able to continue expanding the range of care and welfare initiatives it operates.

As a newly-appointed CEO, my focus and the focus of the board is for Ireland to rank number one globally in delivering best-in-class welfare programmes and care standards for racing greyhounds. No healthy greyhound should have its life ended prematurely. As the industry regulator, this requires acting upon solid data and responding with a zero-tolerance approach to breaches of welfare. We also wish to restore commercial activities post Covid and in the medium term to develop a right-sized industry model for the sport that fits the country and delivers best value for our largest shareholder, the Irish taxpayer.