Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

That is the way it works. The Minister cannot have it every way. Trust is very important. We are taking what the Minister has said on trust, that he will reach agreement with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on those issues in the autumn. In effect, the Minister is saying to him and to all of the people who have an interest in the matter such as the greyhound industry and Government backbenchers as well as Members of the Opposition that he will still have the whip hand over anyone and everyone who wishes to have matters relating to animal welfare and the greyhound industry included in the legislation. We wish to remove all references to the greyhound industry and if the Minister trusts the House and his colleagues he will agree to do that. He has given his word on the matter in various meetings in the past two weeks. If that is his position he will have no difficulty whatsoever in removing references to the greyhound industry from the Bill and leaving it to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in the autumn.

See this speech in context