Ms Dearbhla O'Brien:

Should be we be broken up from the horse and greyhound fund? No, we do not have a burning desire for that. In terms of the use of State funds, I guess it comes down to whether it is a good use of State funds. I believe it is. I believe we should have more State funds when one looks at what it does in terms of welfare and where we are going. We will spend €3.6 million this year on welfare. That is up from €2.2 million in 2019. We are the regulator for the industry so we must have the resources to regulate, do it properly, hold people accountable and have zero breaches of welfare. We want to regulate and distribute a sport that is well run and that has the health and well-being of the greyhound at its heart. That is the first thing.

Is it a good use of State funds? Apart from the welfare, the money is used to run 14 stadia throughout the country which have their own little ecosystems and economies in and of themselves. These stadia generated more than €9 million in revenue in 2019. They provide jobs and contribute €132.3 million to the economy. It is an extremely good return on investment to the Exchequer, notwithstanding the great work we are trying to do in raising welfare standards and distributing a sport that is our heritage. It is as Irish as hurling and must be protected.

The separation from the fund is not foremost on our radar or on my mind. It is more that the funding is there and that taxpayers can see that it is a very good use of their funds. That is essential.

I hope I can remember the Senator's other points.