Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the Minister and I rise to speak against this amendment. I come from a county with a proud coursing record and with long-established coursing clubs. Coursing is part of our heritage and our culture. It is fine to hear Deputies saying that any jobs lost can be replaced in other ways. It is difficult to create employment in these difficult times. The employment provided by the coursing and greyhound industry in Tipperary is indigenous employment, of the people, by the people. It is employment created by the money and initiative of the people themselves. It is created by their own kennels and by investment in breeding dogs. They nurture the greyhounds and the greyhound industry.

We had a very successful festival in Clonmel in February. On numerous occasions I have invited Deputy Clare Daly and Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan to come down to observe the festival. However, there are none so blind as those who will not see. I ask them to come down to see how humane coursing has become and how valuable the industry is to the county and to tourism. Only today I learned that hunting has been taken off the website for The Gathering. If that is the case, it is more the pity, is mór an trua é. It is part of our nature to hunt and fish and do coursing.

I was shocked to hear Deputy O'Sullivan say she was appalled at the result of the previous vote. Thankfully, we live in a democracy and we are entitled to vote. If, as has been claimed by my two colleagues, opinion polls have recorded a demand for the banning of coursing, why have those people not elected 100 Deputies to this House?

Deputy O'Sullivan referred to the e-mails sent to Deputies. Those e-mails are part of a concerted, organised and contrived campaign - a silly campaign, in my view. These are the same people who came to a coursing meeting in Clonmel a couple of years ago and cut the wire of the compound holding the hares. The hares ran out onto the motorway and were slaughtered. This was done in the name of animal rights. They were slaughtered and pulverised into the surface of the motorway. Those people were not thinking about the welfare of those animals. Some years ago, the same people put broken glass on the greyhound track. These are the people who talk about minding the delicate greyhounds. That glass was inserted into the track in order to do unmerciful damage to the feet of the greyhounds. These people need to get real and to stop the bully tactics. We are entitled to our indigenous industry. We are entitled to carry out and to participate in our sports, and more so when it is providing employment. The same applies to hunting. Anyone with a nag, a foal or a mare needs a stable, tackle, a horse box and the means to pull it. They will need to avail of veterinary services. We are generating an industry and we should be allowed to continue. If it does not suit the people in the Pale, that is fine. These people say that coursing was supposed to have been introduced into the garrison towns. If that is so, I say tough; it is something that we adopted. Everything British is not bad. People have got lots of enjoyment out of coursing and lots of jobs have been created out of it. It is an industry worth at least €6 million to the town of Clonmel. I invited the Minister to come to Clonmel but he was unable to come this year. His late colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Shane McEntee, God rest him, came to Clonmel last year. We cannot all live in glasshouses and say that this can be stopped. These are the same people who are looking for jobs here and jobs there. It is not so easy to create jobs. We used to have a flourishing greyhound industry in south Tipperary but it is not half as flourishing now. However, there is still a good residue of people employed and a good residue of spending around this industry. Let us accept the democratic will and the vote. I do not know what will be the result of the next vote; I can only account for my own vote and account for my own people in Tipperary. Some people were horrified because only 14 people voted against the closing of fur factories, which have created valuable employment in certain parts of the country. Let us get real. We cannot on one hand scream for more jobs and more industry while on the other hand banish an indigenous industry that is of the people, by the people and for the people. If we had more of that, we would not have half the unemployment we have.

People are entitled to make and continue their efforts, but it sticks in my craw when they start moaning that only 14 voted one way while 100 voted the other. That is where I have the problem. Is it a democracy or not? Are we going to be led by so-called opinion polls which overwhelmingly say that coursing should be banned? Why is that not reflected at the ballot box?

We have to deal with this in the real world. Goodness knows, the people involved are burdened enough and we should allow them to enjoy their sport. If they want to breed and care in every way for their greyhounds and horses and to generate an industry and jobs for themselves and their families, are we going to stop them because some idealist says this is cruel? I have said it before and hate to revert to it, but some of the people who are anti-blood-sports are totally pro-abortion. I cannot get it into my little head how anyone can be of that frame of mind. That debate is coming down the tracks. They are unashamedly pro-abortion and anti-blood-sports. I rest my case.

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