Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

This year's budget for the horse and greyhound racing fund is €68 million of which I believe it is estimated €31 would come from the betting tax. That was the forecast at the beginning of the year and I suspect that the outturn is considerably less. One way or another, the Exchequer was going to invest considerable money into the industry. All sides of the House would accept that this is not sustainable. I believe the industries themselves recognise it is not sustainable. They want as much as we do for the industries to provide the tax to support them.

For some time the Minister has been saying that he is considering alternative forms of tax. However, he says that one month and the next month he comes in and tells us how difficult it is to find an alternative form of tax and particularly to capture the on-line betting. Given that the review is complete, is it possible to bring forward a form of tax to ensure these industries can survive? I note that the submission of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism to the Department of Finance offered savings as a result of a new form of tax. Therefore, can the Minister of State confirm that a new form of tax, including perhaps capturing on-line betting, has been found?

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