Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to contribute on this legislation. I use the occasion to express my deepest sympathy to Pat Eddery's family on the sad loss of that wonderful and excellent jockey. A great Irish sportsman, he was admired by many throughout the State. He had an amazing record and was recognised internationally. He was crowned champion jockey 11 times. He had three Epsom derby wins, four Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe wins and four Irish derby wins. He won nearly 4,600 races during his career. He had the most winners in a day at seven on 26 June 1992 and the most winners in a season at 200 in 1990. What a record. To his friends and family and everyone involved in horse racing, I offer my deepest sympathy and strongest support. I commend a tremendous Irish sportsman.

The debate on this Bill is important, given the horse racing sector's major contribution to Ireland and internationally. It has put Ireland on the map in terms of horse racing, breeding and show jumping. It puts intense efforts into all sectors of society and sends a positive message about Ireland. The Minister of State knows that it is important that we protect and develop the industry. It has major potential to generate further jobs and expand internationally. There is no point in sitting back because we have done a great job, end of story. We need to be proactive.

The racing sector makes a significant contribution to agriculture, as the Minister of State is well aware, given his strong background in that regard, and the general economy. It is estimated that the horse industry provides in the region of 14,000 jobs and generates €1.1 billion in economic output. I will zoom in on these important figures.

Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, is financed by profits from the tote, funding from on-course and off-course bookmakers and a statute-based direct grant from the Government. Government support for the horse and greyhound racing industries is provided under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund, which was established under section 12 of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001. In accordance with that Act, 80% and 20% of the moneys paid into the fund each year are distributed to HRI and Bord na gCon, respectively. These amounts are subject to annual approval by the Houses of the Oireachtas. In 2014, €43 million from the fund was paid to HRI.

When dealing with this, it is important that we understand the background to the whole industry and the particulars. Although we frequently hear about tourism, our lovely scenery, conferences and web summits, which are all very important, we often forget about the number of people directly connected with horses and horse racing who come to Ireland. It was estimated in the Alan Dukes report of 2013 that approximately 80,000 people travel to Ireland annually for racing. This is a very large number. They come from the United Kingdom and from right across Europe. This significantly benefits the hospitality sector, including those who provide accommodation such as hotels. We need to look after those who travel here as tourists and also as consumers. We do not want to cheese them off, so to speak, as some hoteliers in Dublin are doing by overcharging them and screwing them for bed and breakfast. We need to wake up to this. Some Dublin hoteliers are exploiting people in respect of the costs of bed and breakfast and basic accommodation.

If we are to promote Irish tourism and reduce VAT to help the tourism sector, we do not want to find out consumers are being ripped off and paying €280 or €300 for bed and breakfast. That is not acceptable in this day and age, irrespective of the rationale. I know from speaking to my colleagues that some of them cannot even get a hotel bed in Dublin on certain nights. I am delighted the sector is doing well - good luck to it - but that is never an excuse to rip off the people. I raise this in the context of 80,000 people coming to Ireland for racing related activity. The same applies to the fishing industry. Anglers regularly tell me this. I recently met a group of golfers from Newcastle who came to the north side of Dublin. As the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, knows well, Dublin Bay North is a fantastic place to go and he is always welcome there. It has a very important tourism industry. We have a beautiful bay and also beautiful golf courses.

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