Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I am asking an oral question in the Dáil shortly so I am a little under pressure with the clock, both from the Chair and the Dáil.

I will pick up on a point Deputy Devlin made about our need to be able to look at animal welfare in the round and not just concentrate on this abattoir issue, which the latest issue. We had RTÉ before the committee last year with its travails but there is no doubt that it has done some very good public service broadcasting in this area. I refer to "Dairy's Dirty Secret" about the live export issue and its coverage of the greyhounds issue. For us to say our first step is to do a root and branch review makes me wonder what our first steps were in those instances. This is not the first issue to arise under the Department.

The external review of the horse and greyhound fund was announced this week and the terms of reference speak about whether the prize funds represent best value for money. The taxpayer will have a clear opinion on that even before a review is done. I have a clear view on the efficacy of animal welfare standards before I see any external review. I do not need Mazars or anyone else to inform me much on the review of the governance framework between the IHRB and the HRI. Has the examination of the 80:20 split between horses and greyhounds been included in the terms of reference?