Dáil debates
Tuesday, 2 July 2019
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Greyhound Industry
5:45 pm
Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputies should remember that they have one minute each. Then we will have the reply. The Deputies will have a further minute subsequently.
Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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I pay great credit to the "RTÉ Investigates" team for their work. I was dreading the programme because I knew what it was going to show. I knew because practically everything in the programme has been raised by myself and other Deputies continually for a number of years. I feel like saying "We told you so".
Recently, our amendments to ban the export of greyhounds to countries such as China and Pakistan, which have no animal welfare, were defeated. Our arguments were based on evidence and facts.
I wish to refer to a letter written to the Minister in 2016, copies of which were sent to Bord na gCon, as it was then, and the Chinese ambassador. It contained information from the three main welfare groups in Ireland and international welfare groups about how any greyhounds going from here to places such as Macao were going to certain death, not to mention the cruelty and abuse they would suffer beforehand. I made reference at the joint committee and in the Chamber to the numbers of Irish greyhounds on studbooks and breeding establishment books in China. I mentioned the fact that rescue groups which take our greyhounds back from these countries do not want them to come back to Ireland such is the possibility of abuse here. It was the Irish Greyhound Board that looked for export permissions in 2011. We are not talking about a minority group here; it is the majority of greyhound owners who are abusive towards their animals.
Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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I also wish to thank those involved in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme on exposing what, as Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan stated, we already knew. The culture of animal cruelty has not been addressed in this country. Existing legislation and regulations have been found wanting. Apart from the reputational damage caused by the latest scandal involving the greyhound racing industry, serious welfare issues need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Ministers pay only lip service to the issue and are not joining the dots when it comes to the links between cruel and illegal activities and the way in which dogs are being bred. It is no wonder they are not joining the dots: animal welfare is currently divided among four Departments and the legislation relies heavily on self-regulation rather than robust enforcement of animal welfare laws. I want to hear from the Minister of State that will change things. I hope this is the last nail in the coffin for the greyhound industry. We must see an end to the cruelty to these dogs, the way they are being treated and exported as well as the way hares are treated in the industry. We must have a serious look at investigating these organisations on the basis of the RTÉ programme. I want to hear the Minister of State state that now and, if necessary, to withdraw the funding given to these organisations pending change. We should stop greyhound racing. It is gone. Since 2007 only 50% of people have been turning up to greyhound stadiums.
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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Every year, the Minister comes to the House when we raise objections in respect of public funding of €16 million per year for the greyhound industry. Every year, the Minister has responded by saying what an important role the industry plays in our social, cultural and sporting landscape. A small number of Deputies have been consistently raising the issues highlighted in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme. The issues include the question of the killing of up to 6,000 greyhounds per year because they are not fast enough and the question of animals being exported to countries such as Macao, where protections are almost non-existent. We have horrific situations like the boiling alive of greyhounds when they are no longer useful. We have raised the question of drugging, which is widespread. We have raised questions in respect of mutilation and cruelty. Significant protests are taking place because people are appalled by what they see. There has to be action by the Government now. We cannot hear more words defending this industry, which is based on profit and exploitation. There is a need for an end to public funding of the greyhound industry and we need action.
Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for the greyhound sector, I have already expressed my deep concern at the issues highlighted in the RTÉ programme broadcast on 26 June. I wish to again reassure the House that the Department takes any allegations of breaches of animal welfare rules very seriously and will thoroughly investigate and take the necessary enforcement actions to deal with such offences.
The new Greyhound Racing Act 2019 passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas, with the assistance and input of Deputies, recently and was signed into law last month. I am confident the new Act will: improve the governance of Bord na gCon; strengthen regulatory controls in the industry; modernise sanctions; and improve integrity within the sector. Under the Act, Bord na gCon may make regulations to require the registration of greyhound owners, the registration of racing greyhounds and the notification by owners, breeders and trainers of greyhounds of many more life events compared with those currently captured on existing studbook and microchipping databases.
These regulations will support the board in its ambition to establish and maintain a new comprehensive tracing database for racing greyhounds and will provide greater powers to deal with areas such as anti-doping, integrity and sanctions, the need for which has only been further underlined by what we saw recently. It is deeply frustrating that the breaches of animal welfare that were highlighted by RTÉ have come to light in the year that saw the largest ever allocation of funding, of €2,751,000, to animal welfare organisations. A total of 108 organisations are benefitting under these arrangements and I appreciate the valuable work these organisations do to protect the welfare of animals on a daily basis. An animal welfare lo-call helpline is in place, along with a dedicated email address, which facilitates the reporting by members of the public of any suspicion that animal cruelty is taking place. All calls received are treated in confidence and are followed up by authorised officers of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I urge anyone who has witnessed a breach of animal welfare rules to use this facility.
I take this opportunity to highlight some of what has been achieved for animal welfare by this Government. The Government has demonstrated a strong and consistent record regarding the enforcement of animal welfare rules, including the review of 100 years of animal welfare legislation, leading to the enactment of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. Since then, a total of 73 successful prosecutions have been taken under the Act, with a further 30 prosecutions for welfare abuses currently being processed. The use of wild animals in circuses was banned in 2017 and this week, the Government has taken the decision in principle to ban fur farming over a phased period. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, will bring forward the general scheme of a Bill to the Government to provide for this ban without delay.
I stress that the Department does not issue certificates for the export of greyhounds to China or Pakistan and no certificates have been issued for the export of greyhounds from Ireland to either of those destinations since I was appointed as Minister of State. I can also confirm that the Department is engaging in a review of the licensing conditions in knackeries, with regard to the practices seen on RTÉ's "Prime Time Investigates" programme. All allegations will be examined to determine the appropriate actions needed. I also understand that coursing activity on Whiddy Island will be investigated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, and will be pursued by the relevant authorities. I fully understand and empathise with the views and concerns of members of the public and their response to the contents of this programme, which undermined our deeply felt national attachment to the care and welfare of all animals. In recent days, Bord na gCon, the IGB, has published the first steps of its action plan to strengthen traceability, re-homing and welfare standards by improved regulation, more inspections and the use of greater resources in these areas.
5:55 pm
Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Deputy.
Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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One minute.
Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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In all fairness-----
Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will be visiting the headquarters of Bord Na gCon shortly to meet with its chair and board members to discuss welfare standards in the industry. In addition, I will discuss the swift implementation of the board's action plan, with a view to identifying what further tangible measures are required to address the serious public concerns raised in this programme.
Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I want to point out to the Minister of State that there is a time slot, and it is up to the Chair to tell him when that time is up.
Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that, but this is an important issue and I feel strongly about it.
Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I know it is important but the other Deputies had to share far less time, so I want to be fair to everybody. The Deputies have a minute each to respond, starting with Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan.
Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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My first question is why the Minister of State, the IGB, and the Department had to wait for this programme to air. We were telling them all this already. Italy and France have banned the export of their dogs to countries like China, the US and Australia, and commercial airlines will not take greyhounds if they know that is where they are going.
I refer again to coursing. My Bill to ban live hare coursing was defeated, but it was based on the same evidence of what is going on that we saw on "Prime Time Investigates" the other night. We have seen appalling injuries inflicted on hares as well. It was said that it was better to have coursing licensed, but we all knew there was unlicensed stuff going on and the programme also noted that a number of people from the licensed coursing clubs were attending those meetings. There was a big hoo-ha about the Government funding granted to the FAI and Repak, but why is the same standard not being applied to the IGB and the amount of funding it is getting? The funding should be withheld until these particular issues are addressed. We are not dealing with it because they are animals. The IGB was aware that injured dogs were being forced to run in races and were being given morphine so they could run. This industry is an absolute disgrace.
Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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I am appalled by the Minister of State's response, because there is no urgency in what he is saying. We knew this was taking place. The Minister of State and the Minister behind him have known for a number of years about the greyhound industry and the treatment of hares in hare coursing. Steps have to be taken, clinically and quickly, to show the industry that these practices will not be tolerated at all. We are talking about 6,000 greyhounds being brought to knackeries each year, and being beaten to death because they cannot run fast enough. This is not livestock: these are animals that should be treated with respect. I am asking the Minister of State to tell the Irish greyhound industry immediately that its funding will be stopped if these issues are not dealt with. We should only issue passports to greyhounds going to countries with welfare conditions of a standard as high as our own and that should be double checked. Licences for hare coursing and netting should be stopped immediately until they are investigated. These sorts of things, and not the weaselly words I have heard from the Minister today, will have an impact. It is not good enough.
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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I agree that it is not good enough. The Minister of State has expressed his deep concern at the issues that have been highlighted. However, those issues have been highlighted for years and it should not take an RTÉ exposé to make people aware or suddenly make the Government concerned. I have a letter here from 2016 that outlines these precise issues, which the ISPCA, Dogstrust Ireland, the Irish Blue Cross, and The Irish Council Against Blood Sports have also raised repeatedly. These issues have been raised repeatedly in this Dáil as well. The idea that the Minister of State did not know about it until it was on RTÉ is simply not credible.
The Minister of State stated that the Department does not issue certificates for the export of greyhounds to China or Pakistan. However, the Minister of State knows that greyhounds are first exported to the UK and then exported to those countries from there. The Minister of State and his Department know who is involved in that, because particular people are going around buying up greyhounds specifically for export to those countries.
I refer to knackeries. A knackery belonging to John Styles and his daughter featured in the RTÉ programme. He stated recently that he would not shoot any more dogs, which is an admission that he has done so in the past. The funding should be cut.
Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the Members' contributions. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan, in fairness to her, participated in the Greyhound Racing Act 2019 and the record will show that she commended me for my ongoing efforts to bring that legislation forward, almost three years to the day since I was appointed Minister of State. I set about modernising the regulations around greyhounds-----
Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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The only regulations-----
Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I did not interrupt the Deputy when she was speaking. I am sincerely trying to bring this industry into focus and into shape. I will be meeting the chair and board members of the IGB this week to go through its action plan and to see to its immediate implementation.
Italy has banned the export of dogs to China and so on and while we could do that too, unless every country we export to that has good welfare standards adopts the same approach it will not be effective. We cannot control what happens in the UK on our own, but we can work with it and re-emphasise the need for it to have stricter controls on how animals exit the country. If every country in a community, such as the EU 27 plus the UK, has the same ring of steel around their exports, then no dogs will end up in countries such as China or Pakistan. We cannot do that unilaterally. We need co-operation and that is why we need to engage with the international greyhound forum to make sure that becomes a reality.