Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

As per my colleague's request, I wish to state that I have no connection with the greyhound industry. The LauraLynn Foundation, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, the Parkinson's Association of Ireland, Dementia Ireland, the Samaritans, SpunOut, the Irish Red Cross, Pieta House and the Rape Crisis Centres all provide invaluable services to many vulnerable people. They also all receive less money from Government than the greyhounds receive on an annual basis. The LauraLynn Foundation is the hospice that provides terminally ill children, yet it gets less money than the greyhounds.

Joe Biden stated: "Don't tell me what you value; show me your budgets and I'll tell you what you value." Unfortunately, this Government and many Opposition Deputies value and prioritise an industry that has a history of questionable governance and animal welfare issues and that is unviable, untenable and unsustainable. For 20 years the State has given special treatment to this sector and provided ring-fenced funding to the tune of approximately €200 million since the Greyhound Racing Act was passed in 2001. I know very few sectors that have been given this special treatment. One would be hard-pressed to see so much funding ring-fenced in respect of front-line community services, despite the huge demand for their outreach supports. During the pandemic, incidences of domestic violence have been on the rise, mental health issues have increased and disability services have been shut down due to Covid-19, yet these sectors have received marginal support from the State to meet the rise in demand. To add insult to injury, the State has decided to increase the funding for the greyhound industry by €2.4 million in the budget for 2021.

Funding of €19 million could go a long way towards addressing the increased demand for domestic violence services, and the increase in the number of first-time callers to organisations such as Women's Aid. The shadow of the pandemic is looming large in our society, and it is not cheap for organisations like Women's Aid to carry out awareness campaigns, to fund helplines and to provide that fundamental service to women and children who are suffering from domestic violence. It is certainly not cheap to run a shelter for women and their children, and the money simply is not there for that. The same applies to youth services, which my colleague also mentioned. These services received €5 million in the budget for 2021, but investing in these youth services could pay a society a huge dividend - much more than that from the greyhound industry.

I also want to note that a climate and biodiversity crisis has been declared in this country. This morning, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, published its report, Ireland's Environment, which really lays bare the state of our environment. Despite this, front-line environmental organisations are still inadequately funded. If one takes BirdWatch Ireland as an example, it received a paltry €16,000 from the Government in comparison with the €19.2 million that will be given to the greyhound industry next year. The Irish Wildlife Trust received €15,000 in funding. It is now time to put our money where our mouth is and start funding these services that will actually do something for our country and its communities.

To the Deputies who argue that this is a rural versus urban issue, I say that it absolutely is not. This is an issue about how the State decides to spend its money and what it prioritises. Rural women need access to domestic violence services and rural communities need access to mental health and dementia services. It is not a rural versus urban issue, and if, as those Deputies are saying, this industry is so successful and important to the economies of our rural towns and villages, well, fine, let us regulate it. However, the industry should stand on its own four legs. We cannot afford to fund this industry. There are other issues and priorities that we should be funding.

This is not a complicated motion or issue. The choice is clear: will this Government decide to stand with organisations on the front line of the pandemic and the environmental crisis or will it continue to stand beside, and devote precious resources to, an industry that continues to lose taxpayers' money, which invests in practices that result in the killing of animals and an industry that no longer reflects the majority wishes of the people?

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