Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil supports this motion. Both industries have attracted a lot of negative publicity in recent months. We should not lose sight of the importance of these two industries to our economy as a whole. The €80 million is money well spent. We have a bloodstock industry which is the envy of many countries around the world. We are also one of the leading countries in the greyhound business and are the envy of many countries. We see that 25 years ago London had 26 dog tracks, but come March there will be no dog tracks left there. We have to see what we have here and while everything has not been done perfectly in the past while, we recognise the great importance of our industry and the significant contribution these two industries make to our economy as a whole. While we are contributing €80 million, we have to recognise the revenue that is coming back into the Exchequer from these two industries, which is not insignificant.

Will the Minister of State look at the position of track bookmakers in regard to levy and taxation? Track bookmakers have come under increasing pressure in recent times. The number of track bookmakers at dog racing and horse racing has declined very significantly. They are an integral part of the industry. The atmosphere and entertainment value of the industry depends greatly on having track bookmakers present. Legislation needs to be changed to allow these track bookmakers to operate on a level playing field with the larger operators which are multinational companies. The one cap fits all method of taxation and levy will not work into the future for track bookmakers, so change needs to be made.

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