Mr. Mark Flanagan:

It does but it is just not that simple. It is about trying to bring the right people together. I think the Department of Justice should be leading this. There is a big problem there. It is only when this hits the airwaves that we all ask what we are going to do about it. That puts the issue on the agenda but after a couple of days, it is gone. We all see the images on Facebook and social media. Nobody wants to see them. I go to Australia to the World Trotting Conference - it was in Berlin, Germany, last year - and people actually ask how the trotting is on the road. They see those images of Ireland. That is not a good image for Ireland or an Irish person to have, whether you are involved in the sport or not. That should not be the case.

I have been making the case for the last ten years that it is because of the lack of investment in facilities. If you do not invest in facilities, it is like a carpenter going to work and you give him the tools but he has not got the wood. He is not going to be able to do his job. All the components need to be in place. There is no point in having a race track if we do not have a tote licence and there is no point in having a tote licence if we do not have a race track. These are the components that make up racing all over the world.