Dáil debates

Wednesday, 6 February 2019

Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Second Stage

 

8:40 pm

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate very much the opportunity to speak to this very important Bill. When addressing this type of matter, I like to speak about our own County Kerry and the proud tradition of greyhound racing and pursuits there. We are very fortunate as we have the great Kingdom greyhound stadium located in Tralee under the great stewardship of Mr. Declan Dowling, who runs a very efficient show every week. It is very well attended each weekend by people young, old and middle-aged. Everybody enjoys a night at the races in the Tralee stadium. It is a great way of fundraising, and fundraising has been carried out there for years for the likes of Kerry University Hospital. Much equipment has been procured because of great nights that were had in the stadium in Tralee.

I will speak about the people who breed and race greyhounds, and specifically those in County Kerry because I know them. These are people who absolutely adore their dogs. They appreciate them fully every day and they work with them in hail, rain and shine. They are the people I support. These are not the odd few people who have brought this area of racing into disrepute by trying to pep up or pep down dogs for races. The people I speak about are genuine about dogs. They bring up their children to respect dogs, they work with them until late at night, they walk them early in the morning and they train and nurture them. They look after them when they are ill. When the dogs come to retirement, as we might call it, these people take great care of them, along with our vets. I compliment our vets in Kerry too; whether they tend to small or big animals, they are very experienced and take great care of them.

The issue of what happens to greyhounds when their time at the track is finished has been mentioned. The people I know take excellent care in ensuring good homes are procured for those dogs, or they might keep them if required. It is very important to recognise that the true people working with dogs would never want to see a hair harmed on a dog's head. They want to mind their dogs at all times. I compliment the people who work in the dog shelters in County Kerry, whether they are in the pound run by Kerry County Council or the volunteers who take care of all types of animals. There are examples in Kenmare and Killarney. A group called KLAWS, also made up of volunteers, does excellent work in our community. It was always said one could judge a man or woman by the way he or she took care of a dog. If anybody mistreats a dog, he or she would not care much about anybody else either. We were always very fond of dogs because they were always around at home, and we could always judge people by the way they treated all types of animals.

It is very important that this Bill strengthens the welfare of animals and protects the reputation of the industry because it means so much. Deputy Mattie McGrath put the argument very passionately that we in the country want to continue with our pursuits. We do not need people telling us what to do because we can regulate it ourselves. That said, I welcome any regulation that strengthens the welfare of animals and ensures they can be protected at all stages. We must nevertheless keep this sport going. It is great to see buses full of tourists coming to the Kingdom stadium on a Friday or Saturday night. They are delighted to come and have the best of entertainment and food at the track while they watch the dogs running in a very well-organised and professional fashion. The people who bring their dogs come from Tarbert and all over the county. Many of them are located around Tralee, south Kerry and Dingle.

These people have put so much effort into the work. If they did a profit and loss analysis, as the Minister of State knows, they would probably not make money from it. They do it for the love of it. They love going out and meeting other people. Over the years I have met so many nice people and made friends at that stadium on a Friday or Saturday night. The regular attendees sit in the same seats and they can watch racing from tracks around the rest of the country as well as what goes on in Tralee. We are very fortunate as we have a very proud tradition of taking care of our greyhounds in Kerry. We could not say anything bad about any type of legislation that would strengthen the protection of animals. We are all for that. We want to ensure the industry will remain in Kerry as it creates much needed employment in different sectors. People work in stadiums and there are ancillary workers in the bars, kitchens and restaurants. It is a great team and we are all looking for the one thing, which is a bit of sport and enjoyment. We also want to see the dogs being looked after.

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