John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his plans to publish the recently completed review of the horse and greyhound racing fund; if he will bring forward proposals for a new funding system for the industry in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8107/10]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to Question No. 64 in the name of Deputy Upton in which I outlined my views on the future funding options for the horse and greyhound racing sectors. I have provided a copy of the Farrell, Grant, Sparks review of the horse and greyhound fund to the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, of which the Deputy is a member.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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We just got it today. The last time we raised this issue, the Minister stated that he wanted to bring in what he called a gambling architecture for the State. That sounds great, but it is a tall order, given the different players in the market from the small bookies to the big on-line players. We are at it for a couple of years, so is there any point in looking at an interim solution specifically for the horse breeding industry? The Minister knows how badly the industry is doing. There are fewer horses, trainers, races, jobs and less money. We are right up at the top at international level in this area. If we go off the stage for a few years, we will lose our place and our reputation. Is there any point in looking at an interim arrangement?

One of the problems with the tax for small bookmakers was that it was a tax on turnover. That can be very onerous because the bookmaker must pay even if there is no profit at all. Is there any point in looking at some other kind of tax or a flat contribution? I know that the big on-line companies are more than willing to make a contribution. Nobody is happy with the turnover tax, but half a loaf is better than no bread at the moment. If the architecture to which the Minister refers is so difficult to achieve, should we be looking at something that can help the horse industry in the meantime?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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When we recently spoke about this at the committee, I said to the Deputy that the French Government is involved in the same process and we are liaising with them to come up with a solution. It is very hard to disentangle, because the process is the very same whether gambling takes place over the telephone or on-line or wherever. Everybody in the industry has been willing to make a contribution, but the difficulty is that they all see the bigger contribution coming from somewhere else in the industry.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It was ever thus.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy smiles and she is right. While a tax on turnover may be somewhat onerous, the figures that have been suggested to me for a contribution in comparison to what is bet bear no resemblance whatsoever. That is just not acceptable and we must be realistic. It is in the interests of the industry to work with this and come up with a solution. Some members of the industry are coming to see me today, and I will be interested to hear whether they have an updated position.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I also met with some of the serious players in all of this. Each one of them acknowledges the need for doing something about this. Does the Minister have any plan to bring the various stakeholders together to hammer out a deal? There is an element of goodwill among them. I accept the point made by the Minister that everybody would like everybody else to pay, but it is also fair to say that the players acknowledge that something must be done. By getting them all together around a table, something could come about from it and an agreement could be reached.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I would be keen to do that, but I need a firm workable proposal to put to them in order to do that. I met with them all and I have heard their ideas-----

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I can give the Minister my document.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I am sure we have all received the same documents and messages. I would be open to tweaking some proposal in way that is acceptable to the industry in general. It is a very important and successful industry, and it will have to make its contribution to its own funding. The general Exchequer funding cannot continue to do that. We are still getting substantial funds for the industry, but they are not enough to support the volume of funding needed in the industry.