Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The horse racing and greyhound industries not only have economic benefits but also bring great enjoyment to hundreds of thousands of people in Ireland every year. I have no wish to restrict the growth or development of these industries, although I have serious doubts about the funds dispersed by Government to Horse Racing Ireland and Bord na gCon. Every time this funding is discussed, I hear about the thousands of jobs in the industry, but sometimes I wonder about the quality of these jobs and whether they are counted as whole-time equivalents as they are in the HSE, schools and other State bodies. How many real jobs are there? Bord na gCon claims there are 10,300 people employed in the greyhound industry. I would love to know where these people work and the basis of the claim that the industry contributes €500 million to the economy each year. I am told by dog breeders and trainers that the greyhound industry is in crisis and will disappear within the decade if radical reform does not take place. According to Horse Racing Ireland, the horse racing industry employs 14,000 people and contributes €1.1 billion to the economy. With two such healthy and vibrant industries, why does the Exchequer have to hand out such an amount of money? Why does horse racing prize money, in a sport populated by very rich owners and trainers, have to come from an Exchequer which cannot pay for the basic medical needs of our senior citizens, for instance? We cannot always make those simple comparisons but for this amount of money - €80 million - there has to be clear and demonstrable benefits to society and our economy. Along with that, there must be strict adherence to corporate governance and transparency in all financial aspects of the industry. The excessive salaries and expenses being drawn down in both organisations is beyond the realm of reason and the decisions about where to spend Exchequer money will have to be examined.

It was confirmed to me at the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine that almost €3 million of taxpayers' money would be spent on the redevelopment of Galway racecourse, mainly on the construction of a champagne bar. There was a time when the people at the Galway races were happy to drink their champagne in a tent but now it seems the taxpayer has to pay for the construction of a bar for them. Is this value for money in the context of the economic hardship so many people are suffering throughout the country?

Horse Racing Ireland has been in the news over the past six months due to the manner of the reappointment of its chief executive officer for a third term. I am led to believe that the irregularities in the appointment of the CEO have continued for more than a decade, according to correspondence released by HRI and reported in The Irish Timeslast Saturday. I have raised this matter before in the House and representatives of the board of HRI attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine to inform us about this appointment. At that time, the chairman admitted quite openly that the appointment was against Government guidelines, that the CEO's salary had exceeded the Government cap and that the latest appointment was made without even a gesture towards open competition. It was suggested that the board had no option as the CEO had accrued rights with a contract of indefinite duration. This state of affairs suggests either extreme incompetence or, more probably, an intentional lapse to provide the CEO with a contract of indefinite duration allowing this situation to transpire.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the board of HRI, it seems, feel that this was acceptable behaviour. When I raised the matter in the House with the Minister, Deputy Creed, asking if, considering the blatant disregard for corporate governance displayed by the board of HRI, he would consider reviewing the amount of money the Exchequer was providing to it, he referred to my misgivings as "a fit of pique". Somebody needs to have a fit about it. I still have not been given any justification for the way this appointment was allowed, except that it seems it does not matter because they say the right man was appointed for job.

The House must exercise more vigilance regarding appointments and funds and the way in which they are expended and distributed throughout these two industries. It would be more appropriate for less Exchequer funding to go to prize money for big races, and more to other sectors of the industry such as point-to-point racing, harness racing and programmes for better breeding and husbandry, incentivising small breeders to improve their stock. It is hard to understand why there is resistance on Government benches, and presumably among Fianna Fáil Members, to increasing betting tax so the industry can be more self-funded.

Anyone who takes even a casual look at the way in which the greyhound industry is run would have to be alarmed. We have had various reports and inquiries, such as the Morris report into doping in the greyhound industry and the Indecon report into Bord na gCon which found more disregard for corporate governance and people outstaying their terms on the board. The Oireachtas joint committee published a report highlighting serious flaws in the running of the sector. The integrity of the greyhound industry is in tatters, mainly due to the seemingly laissez-faireattitude to the use of performance enhancing drugs.

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain warned owners, as late as 2014, of the dangers of buying dogs from Ireland and urged all trainers to exercise caution and due diligence in assessing the drugs status of dogs they might purchase from Ireland. The use of artificial insemination, AI, straws from dogs who are more than two years deceased is illegal, yet this rule is continually flouted to the detriment of the quality and renewal of the breeding stock. This is a terrible state of affairs and it seems as if the Government turns a blind eye and does not enforce the necessary discipline and governance on the sector.

What is the rationale for the expenditure of this money? The House deserves more than a shrug from the Minister and should demand action to reverse this. Bord na gCon has failed to do its job. The recommendations of Morris, Indecon and the agriculture committee have not been implemented. The Government tells us it is preparing new legislation. There is already legislation to deal with these irregularities and it is not being used. Under these circumstances, I cannot support the funding allocation to these two bodies and I will call a vote on the matter. It is outrageous that this money is being spent in this way.

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