Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

The Opposition call for debate on this issue today was not based on the premise that the State should not support the horse racing or greyhound racing industries. It does not deny that these industries have an economic benefit to the State, or that greyhound and horse racing give a great deal of aesthetic and recreational pleasure to the citizens. Instead, the Opposition wishes to question the Government's sense of priorities, given that the scale of the fund is so large and the annual increases proposed up to 2008 are larger than the Government's savage 16 cuts in social welfare last year. When that sense of priority exists within a government it must be questioned.

Politically, this decision was a parting gift from departing members of the Cabinet, the then Ministers for Finance, and for Agriculture and Food. It is indicative of the culture of this Government in particular whose support for the horse racing industry led to the fiasco of the Punchestown event centre. It is a culture in which decisions are made for the benefit of certain people without following proper procedures, and taxpayers' money is spent in a wasteful and even fraudulent way. Those who benefit from these policies gain not only by direct provision but by the absence of fair taxation policies, for example, for horsebreeders and those involved in the horse racing industry who, while benefiting most, are among the biggest tax exiles.

We should oppose measures such as this when they are on such a scale and are so inherently unfair. The lack of Government action on taxation for stallion fees is a scandal. The Government has put in place a measure such that no tax will be deducted from income earned but an assessment will be made by October 2005. Despite the fair distribution of taxation from the horse racing industry, those who benefit do so twice by receiving direct aid from the taxpayers and having no obligation to contribute to the taxpayers' fund.

The Green Party is concerned that because the Irish Coursing Club plays such a prominent role in registering greyhounds the organisation may again receive funding. We oppose any such move.

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