Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Greyhound racing has been in decline for decades. Ireland is one of only ten countries in the world where commercial greyhound racing is still legal in 2023. Since the Government took office, it has given €74 million to the greyhound racing industry, with €19 million allocated in budget 2024. There are 17 tracks in Ireland and no one to fill them. Youghal greyhound track had an average of three people at meets during the start of this year.

Why does the Government refuse to acknowledge what the overwhelming majority of the country clearly knows, which is that greyhound racing is, not exclusively but predominantly, a cruel industry that has no place in modern society? Despite some breeders and trainers taking good care of their dogs, everywhere greyhound racing operates, the story is the same, with rampant animal welfare abuses, injuries, fatalities, overbreeding and culls. In country after country, the industry is being banned. In track after track, attendance is plummeting, yet the Government continues to throw millions of euro at it every year. The continued support of political parties in government and opposition for State funding of this cruel industry shocks me. The Green Party stance remains a particular disappointment. After years of taking strong positions on animal rights and blood sports, it abandoned those beliefs the second it entered government. The Labour Party has tabled an amendment calling for a review of the fund and expressing concerns about animal welfare, while, it seems, approving annual funding yet again. A free vote was allowed last year on this motion, so it is disappointing to see all Labour TDs’ names attached to this amendment. It was welcome last year that Sinn Féin voted against the motion. I hope it will be repeated this evening.

Following the 2019 RTÉ documentary revealing the scale of abuses in the industry – up to 7,000 dogs bred to be killed annually – the greyhound board introduced a deeply flawed traceability system. Non-coursing greyhounds are only registered on the system at 12 weeks and only if born in the Republic. No dogs born in the North are included. There is no way of knowing the extent of the overbreeding problem if we do not know how many dogs are born in a given year. Thousands of dogs have been bred and then destroyed because they did not make the cut. Destinations for exports of dogs to any country other than the UK are not recorded on the system despite the fact that we know Irish greyhounds are still sold to China and Pakistan, both countries with horrendous animal rights records.

Since the Government took office, 438 dogs have died on the tracks and 1,026 have been injured, some of them hurt so seriously they had to be put down immediately. These are only the figures for races. We have no idea how many dogs have suffered and died at trials where, appallingly, vets are not required to be present.

The Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s report on dog welfare noted there is virtually no oversight or transparency concerning canine artificial insemination, a process so dangerous for dogs it is banned in the UK, yet somehow it is still legal here. Over 500 female greyhounds have been put through this cruel and painful procedure since 2019, all to facilitate the rampant overbreeding of greyhounds, which is a hallmark of the industry.

I fully expect that the motion, despite all these glaring unaddressed issues, will pass, not with the support of the majority of the public but somehow with the support of the majority of parties in this Chamber. Public funding to the greyhound racing industry must end. The importance of the industry to the survival of rural communities is fantasy. If parties in this Chamber are so convinced of its importance and popularity, why not let it survive on a commercial basis? The Minister, the Government, the Labour Party and some Independent TDs do not want that because they all know the support is not there and the industry would collapse without the annual handout of taxpayer money. When will they face reality and end the State subsidy for this cruelty?

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