Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ferris for raising this issue. We had a brief discussion on it in the committee a number of days ago. Horse Racing Ireland is a commercial State body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001 and it is responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry. The current foal levy scheme, which was introduced in 2000 on a statutory basis, applies to all thoroughbred foals registered in Ireland. The proceeds of the levy are used by Horse Racing Ireland to help fund the Irish Equine Centre, which is very important, the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. These organisations provide key support structures to the Irish thoroughbred breeding industry.

The foal levy is a relatively small element of the overall cost of keeping and covering a mare and, for reasons of practicality, is based on the advertised nomination fee rather than the actual fee paid. By way of example, the lowest foal levy band incurs a fee of €35 and the second band is €50. Most small breeders fall into one of these two bands. The highest band, for stallion fees in excess of €30,000, is €650. At coverings of up to €15,000, the differences between the foal levy bands are a maximum of €50. Breeders who pay an actual nomination fee that is less than the advertised nomination fee used to determine the foal levy band have already achieved a real saving. The associated levy should be considered in the context of the overall cost of breeding and keeping a foal. There is a very high compliance level with the foal levy scheme and it has been revised from time to time to ensure fairness in its application.

There is a foal levy committee which reviews annually the rates, bands and structure of the levy and there is quite a lot of consultation in this regard.

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