Mr. Pat Herbert:

I will provide some context to the issue of injuries. The Senator referred to the 154 deaths last year. That was 154 deaths too many, as my colleague mentioned. Like so many others, our industry is not perfect. I wish it was, but it is not. Speaking as the longest serving member of the organisation’s executive, though, this board is committed fully to improving welfare standards within the industry. I would like members to know that when they leave this room.

I will give some context to the 154 deaths. There were 1,388 race meetings at 14 licensed stadiums, with over 15,500 races and more than 91,000 starters. My colleague mentioned the 351 reported injuries. They represented 0.38%. The number of greyhounds put to sleep or fatally injured represented 0.17%. That is still too much and we know that we need to improve. My colleague has mentioned the steps that are already in play to improve the figures.

Since 1 November, staff at trial sessions, including our racing managers, are reporting injuries sustained there. This information is recorded by an authorised staff member during unofficial and official trial sessions and reported to RCE. During such track activity, the information recorded by the authorised staff includes the location of the stadium, the date of the injury, the owner or trainer of the animal, whether it is an official or unofficial trial session, the name of the greyhound, the prevailing weather conditions and whether people were provided with the contact details of the nearest veterinary clinic. By the way, those contact details are available in all greyhound stadiums and access to emergency veterinary care facilities is made available in every weigh room. Other information recorded includes the location of the injury, a brief description of the injury, whether the injury was witnessed and how it was reported.

I can advise the Senator that the people most affected by those injuries are GRI staff because they take such pride in the maintenance of their surfaces. They have been trained extensively to maintain those surfaces. They take huge issue when a greyhound breaks down on a track. That is to their credit. I also advise the Senator that in the past two years we have specifically introduced an injury recovery scheme, which has been expanded recently. The scheme provides that up to €1,000 in the cost of veterinary fees can be recovered for any greyhound that is injured at a race or trial session. That is available to owners. Last November, we launched a code of practice for the care of greyhounds, which was signed off by the Minister. It contains general welfare principles, and covers responsible ownership, husbandry issues, hygiene, pest control, nutrition, healthcare and breeding. I will not list them all. The code that has been brought in contains a raft of provisions. The code of practice is specifically referenced in the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011. It is the minimum care that is required in the industry.

On the area of responsible ownership, as has been mentioned by the Chairman and Senator Boyhan, it is the responsibility of every owner in this country to think about retirement plans for greyhounds when they are finished racing. We will assist in the process, but it is the owner's specific responsibility. We are on the record as saying that people must start thinking about these things before they take ownership of a greyhound. It is incumbent on them to do so.

On traceability, I can advise the Senator that there are specific plans in plans for phase two of the Rásaíocht Con Éireann traceability system, RCÉTS. They will incorporate a raft of things, such as the uploading of euthanasia certificates for greyhounds. We have mentioned the statutory instrument that is being progressed in the matter. Phase 2 will also involve the recording of specific injury data at trials and races. We also envisage the introduction of the uploading of health checks for greyhounds in advance of transportation. Much of that will focus on the care side rather than the racing side. There is a body of work to be done. We have been driving the roll-out of the RCÉTS to meet the needs of the industry going forward. Phase 1 is complete, but is an evolving animal. It has to evolve to meet the needs of the industry. We are committed to the recording element of the RCÉTS.