Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)

Five or six of us own that bitch between us and she has won races both on the track and in the field, in Liscannor and in the Duffer Stakes. She has produced very good pups, one of which won two rounds of the Produce Stakes, which is a classic, and was trained by an excellent trainer, Gerry Holian. I come from a tradition in Clarecastle where we won two coursing derbies with Murty's Gang and Danagher's Best. It horrified me to see Senator Ó Brolcháin talking about an issue he knew nothing about. He talked about The Late Late Show commanding stud fees of up to €1 million. In all fairness, if he was a stallion that might be the case, but The Late Late Show commands a stud fee of €800. For any Green Party spokesman to lecture Fine Gael Senators in that way is ridiculous.

What impact will this legislation have on the greyhound industry? The idea that a breeding bitch is classified at six months is laughable. Not every bitch is bred; only select bitches are bred if they have proven themselves, or perhaps if they are from a good litter. They certainly are not classified as brood bitches at six months. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government proposes to change that from four months to six months. It is ridiculous. It is so stupid it shows a complete lack of understanding and ignorance of the whole issue.

It would be funny if we were not talking about an industry that supports 11,000 jobs. To the credit of successive Fianna Fáil Governments, first class stadia have been built and one is currently under construction. All of that will be undermined if we start tampering with the greyhound industry. I did not hear anything from the Minister that got me excited. The greyhound industry has a reprieve for the summer but we are still in the dark because we have not seen the amendments. I will reserve my judgment on this legislation until I see the amendments in black and white.

I have no difficulty with the regulation of puppy farms but I question how many puppy farms there actually are in the country. The Minister is making more of an issue of this than it is. I am horrified to see images on television of intensive puppy breeding - it is wrong - but the Minister should not tar the greyhound industry with that brush. I was horrified that the Minister never mentioned the Irish Coursing Club in his speech. That was outrageous.

I hope the Minister will see sense. I appeal to Fianna Fáil, Green Party and Independent Deputies to make sure the amendments to the 1958 Act are reasonable, that they take account of what matters in the greyhound industry and that they are not pie in the sky. The current Bill's provisions for the greyhound industry are pie in the sky. The proposed fees of €400 and €250 are ridiculous. They will cripple an indigenous industry that already has a fee structure in place. If someone wants to register a litter or transfer ownership, there are regulations in place. There is no need to interfere with them because they are fair and have worked for years.

The best way to deal with this issue is through the 1958 Act. We must see the amendments that will supposedly come. I am not happy with the way this legislation is being rushed through the House and I look forward to scrutinising the amendments on Committee and Report Stages.

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