Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like many people in rural Ireland I am a little confused by the Fáilte Ireland decision to stop promoting greyhound racing, both nationally and internationally, as part of its itineraries. This is bizarre. It is damaging for the industry and for the livelihoods of people such as small-scale greyhound owners and the many people who benefit from greyhound racing through employment and so forth. I do not know what is going on or who is running the Cabinet. How can Fáilte Ireland be interfered with by a Minister and requested to do this? Imagine if the Guinness Storehouse was taken off the itinerary. This is blackguarding rural Ireland again. It is a Dublin-centric Cabinet that just says to hell with rural Ireland - to hell or to Connacht and leave everything. This is madness. I call on the Taoiseach to reverse this decision and insist that Fáilte Ireland advertise the full range of sporting events we have and not victimise a particular sector.

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