Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That decline was partly due to the amount of levies being imposed on horse owners by the HRI. Owners had to renew their colours every year, which was nonsense. They also had to pay money to renew the registration of trainers. The HRI was extracting money at an unacceptable rate. It got blood out of the turnip. It contributed to the decline in numbers and I have said that to its representatives. The Turf Club and others involved in the industry know of my views on this matter, as do the media. The HRI acted disgracefully. It has started to cut back on some of those practices now, but a bit late in the day. During the recession, the HRI was horrendous and had no feeling for ordinary punters or the small racehorse owners.

Racecourses play an important role in the development of tourism, as I know well from the work done by my local racecourse at Kilbeggan, which is 175 years old this year. We are very proud of that racecourse. It is managed shrewdly by Paddy Dunican together with the clerk of the course, Lorcan Weir, and the large and willing band of volunteers who work hard to make it the great racecourse that it is in the heart of the midlands. We are very proud of it as a premier location and a premier racecourse.

I am motivated not by any grandiose ideas or plans born in the brains of well-sheltered bureaucrats but by what is important from the perspective of the racecourses and their voluntary management who have struggled to survive. They have not been helped, notwithstanding assurances I was given to the contrary, by the machinations and manoeuvring of the HRI which seems to be preoccupied with ensuring the top courses, some of which are owned by its members, continue to progress and are the major beneficiaries of the largesse of the State. I would use the issue of media rights as an example of what I mean in this regard. It is critical that the racecourses have the final say in approving any contracts involving media rights. Those rights are owned by the racecourses. They are a proprietary right and there is a constitutional issue involved. As a lawyer, I wish to signal that fact. It is likewise with the issue of point-to-point meetings, about which I will speak later.

Section 10(9) and (10) of the 2001 Act, which deal with the distribution of the income generated from media rights, must be deleted. This must not be ratified collectively either because there is a fear, which is well founded, that this would lead to a return to the old situation whereby the HRI and the bigger racecourses would outvote and overrule the wishes and the will of the smaller racecourses and impose their view on the matter. They would determine how to deal with the collection of large sums originating from the sale of media rights and they would reign supreme. I do not want any part of this section circumscribed by the imposition of any additional sections which would effectively amount to a sleight of hand. I wish to signal that I will be keeping a very careful and close eye on this on Committee Stage. I am not a contrarian but experience has taught me to be sceptical when required and in this case I will be so.

The television rights income on Irish racecourses, especially the smaller country tracks, is replacing revenue from declining admissions income. That is why it is vital for small racecourses to be able to protect their intellectual property rights. Others should not have the right to grab them, to expropriate them for themselves and then decide how much to give to the racecourses. That is not the way life works. Those racecourses have been in existence for a very long time. Kilbeggan, as I said earlier, has been operating for 175 years. I also go to the racecourses in Roscommon and Ballinrobe regularly and would only go to the bigger racecourses for the odd big race meeting. The smaller courses are the bedrock of the industry.

To be blunt, the HRI depends on the taxpayer for its income. It receives significant grants from the taxpayer through the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. As a State body it was clamouring to get a share of the racecourse media rights for years and in 2001 it achieved that goal with SIS. There was great annoyance at this because not only did the HRI receive the market value for the ownership of the media rights but small racecourses like Kilbeggan had to pay €12,000 per meeting to the HRI, amounting to €96,000 for eight meetings. Over an eight year period, that amounted to €768,000. A significant number of bookmaker's shops have closed since the last contract was negotiated in 2011 so there will be fewer bookmaker's shops to buy the media rights products in the next contract. The question arises as to whether it will be the smaller racecourses that will bear the brunt if there is a decrease in income. That is why this issue is so important.

It is fundamental and runs to the very essence of this Bill.

The deletion of section 10(9) and (10) will enable a section to be included to provide for formal ratification and approval by racecourses of any contract involving media rights. I may be wrong in this regard but I have checked the approximate percentage increases in income received in the most recent SIS media rights contracts negotiated by Horse Racing Ireland in 2011. I note the increase for Fairyhouse racecourse was 70% and I salute that decision. The increases for the racecourses at Leopardstown, Punchestown, the Curragh and Galway were 78.38%, 88.25%, 97.24% and 90%, respectively. I also note that the increases for the racecourses at Ballinrobe, Clonmel, Dundalk, Roscommon, Kilbeggan and Thurles were 35%, 29%, 36%, 36%, 32% and 35%, respectively. The change is important for this reason.

I understand that prior to 2011, racecourses received equal payment from SIS for their media rights. As such, the pitch was level. I understand Horse Racing Ireland is now requiring racecourses to pay a minimum sponsorship contribution of €3,500 for premium fixtures. If the racecourses are not able to guarantee such payment, they may have to find alternative dates and times for the relevant race meetings - for example, by moving them to weekday afternoons during the summer months or outside the summer period altogether. As I indicated, Kilbeggan racecourse is 175 years old and has much of which to be proud. Kilbeggan is clearly a summer track. Is the introduction of a minimum sponsorship charge of €3,500 a way of compelling racecourses to pay towards the prize money and administrative costs of the racing industry? The Government, through the Minister, is already funding the industry to a significant degree. One must wonder what is the motive or rationale for this proposal, which is a matter of grave concern, especially for smaller racecourses. I have spoken to representatives of a few such racecourses and they work hard to control costs and outlay. These racecourses are operating as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible without compromising standards. The issue of media rights is important for this reason and it is a matter on which I and other members of the Labour Party will focus.

I will raise another bugbear of mine, one that is shared by many of those working in the industry. County Westmeath is decorated by high achievers at high levels, from horse owners, breeders and trainers to jockeys, stable mates and stable hands. One cannot but laud the wonderful recent publication by Kilbeggan native Stan McCormack of a book with the title Racing Through the Midlands. The Minister should buy a copy. Mr. McCormack is well up in the racing industry and did a great job in the book. It refers to various issues, including the Newbrook racecourse in Mullingar, the famous races at Kilbeggan, the point-to-point races at Castletown Geoghegan and The Pigeons in Doory near Ballymahon. It also highlights many successful breeders, trainers and jockeys who achieved significant success in many important races and famous equestrian occasions. Some of these in my home area include Cecil and Alan Ross and their late father Billy, Adrian Murray, the late Jimmy Tormey, Ciaran Murphy, and Dot Love, who trained Liberty Counsel to win the Irish Grand National. Martin Lynch from Castletown Geoghegan nearly won the Aintree Grand National. These are small trainers who did their best and fought to survive during the recession. Tommy Cleary is another trainer in Athlone whose son is a very good jockey. Anne Fallon is also a trainer. Owners include Gigginstown House Stud and Michael and Eddie O'Leary, and hardly a week goes by in which one does not read about one of them. They also have great supporters who travel to Cheltenham and elsewhere. Christy Maye and Martin Dibbs bred Comply or Die, which won the National. Sean Reilly, a neighbour of mine, bred the great mare Shadow Eile. There is also the late Ned Newman and his son Gerry in Leney, Ballinalack. Other notable names include the late Cecil Ronaldson and the O'Neill family of Rathganny in Multyfarnham. Mr. Watt won the Grand National in 1958, and L'Escargot, who was bred there, won 17 years later when he beat Red Rum in 1975. Other names include the Nugents, the Boyd-Rochforts, Tally-Ho Stud, the Clearys of Bishopstown, the Dobsons, and the Downes family of Russellstown Stud. Peter Downes, one of nature's gentleman, was an expert on all things equestrian. The late Colm Murray had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the racing industry. The Minister will know Mr. Breon Corcoran, the chief executive of a new betting entity. He is a Mullingar man from Ballinea, and we are very proud of him. I have only referred to a sample of the County Westmeath people associated with the sport of kings, although they do not regard it as such because they are ordinary folk who have an ingrained love of racing.

I will address briefly the importance of point-to-point racing and the reasons it should not be included in the Bill. Surely it is incongruent to have a successful amateur sport that is manned by volunteers governed by legislation. I am completely confused by the decision to include the sport in the provisions of the Bill, because this is not done with any other sport. I am involved with point-to-point racing, which has its base in rural Ireland. I was delighted to win one of the oldest cups in Ireland, the Barbour Cup, twice with Ballintue Road. Point-to-point racing is a community activity organised by the local hunt or committee. The point-to-point community is almost entirely voluntary and is predicated on the traditional concept of sharing and co-operation. It is an integral part of the fabric of rural communities throughout the island. Point-to-point racing was not covered by the Indecon report and is not mentioned in existing legislation. The sport has thrived under the stewardship of the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee, INHSC, and is run on a very low cost base owing to high levels of volunteerism in the sport. It is not necessary to have a successful amateur sport governed by legislation, as is proposed in this Bill. This proposal is unprecedented, and while I will not dwell on the issue, I would not be surprised if it was subject to a legal challenge. The Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee has made many submissions to the Department and it is disappointing that they have all fallen on deaf ears.

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