Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

We would all agree on the importance of horse racing and the greyhound industries for employment here and with all their other positive benefits outlined by the Minister, about which there is no argument. The issue that arises is around the methodology for funding. The review, to which the Minister referred, is out of date and inaccurate. For instance, it states that excise duty on off-course betting will be increased in 2009 from 1% to 2%, but that did not happen. The excise duty on it is still 1%. More importantly, there is no indication in that report as to how any additional revenue might be generated. The point is made in the report that the value of on-line betting in 2007 was approximately €1.5 billion. That is a huge amount of money that is available to be taken on board and to be taxed in some way. I want the Minister to set out how he plans to capture the taxation of on-line betting as a method of supporting the horse and greyhound fund.

See this speech in context