Martin Ferris (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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The greyhound fraternity and the Irish Greyhound Board have expressed shock and disappointment at the decision of Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland to suspend the promotion of greyhound racing in the national and international tourism markets. This will have a significant impact on many areas in rural Ireland, particularly those that depend on a strong greyhound industry.

I do not for a minute defend any cruelty towards animals and there are allegations of animal cruelty by a very small minority within the greyhound industry. This must be fully investigated by the appropriate authorities and stamped out. I would fully support that. I would not condone violence towards animals in other sports such as showjumping, horse racing and so on. However, this is focused specifically on the greyhound industry and many people feel, as I do, that the small boys and girls of the sporting industry in the country are being victimised by this decision.

The greyhound industry provides support and considerable employment, directly and indirectly, across the Irish economy and, in particular, in more rural parts of the country. The gross wage bill attributed to employment in the industry is estimated at €126 million. PAYE-PRSI pay per annum is estimated at €12.7 million. The net income generated by the industry is estimated at €113.8 million. Using a conservative income multiplier effect of 0.5, this would result in a total economic impact of €171 million per annum in additional spending. That is the type of money that is going into rural Ireland.

Many of us who come from rural communities are well aware of our local greyhound industry. Local greyhound tracks provide a facility for charitable organisations to run functions that benefit those organisations. Much money has been provided to University Hospital Kerry as a result of greyhound meetings organised by Kerry Hospice, the Friends of University Hospital Kerry and other charitable organisations. It is of significant financial support to those sectors.

This suspension of promotion of the industry will have economic consequences. More than 30,000 people come from overseas to attend greyhound meetings and that tourism will be lost. Over 12,000 people derive the economic benefits of the greyhound industry and could be the subjects of job losses. For the Minister to criminalise an entire sector because of the actions of a few unscrupulous individuals is scandalous. The same could happen in the showjumping or horse racing industries, or any other sector where animals are used for sport and entertainment. It is terribly wrong and an insult to the genuine individuals who are providing an amenity for the people in their respective areas. The Minister needs to reconsider this decision. He needs to talk to Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. This decision is penalising 99% of genuine, decent people because of the actions of the few. If the greyhound sector is going to be penalised, other sectors should also be penalised accordingly and I am quite certain that will not happen.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy and apologise to the House for arriving a little late. I was discussing some crucial budget matters with the Minister for Finance. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, for agreeing to take this matter in my absence. I also thank Deputy Ferris for giving me the chance to address it. I have had representations on this matter from elsewhere and I understand the strong feelings which are felt on all sides about this issue, although they all come from a completely different perspective.

Let me begin by clarifying the respective roles of my Department and the tourism agencies in the context of tourism development. As Minister, I set national tourism policy in order to grow a competitive and sustainable tourism industry, while the agencies have operational responsibility for the implementation of this policy. On the matter of tourism, marketing and promotions, Tourism Ireland is the all-island body responsible for overseas tourism marketing, whereas Fåilte Ireland is responsible for domestic tourism promotions. Accordingly, decisions regarding particular promotional channels or campaigns such as those relating to greyhound racing are operational matters for the tourism agencies.

There has been much coverage and debate lately, including in the RTÉ "Prime Time" programme that aired over the summer, regarding alleged cruelty to greyhounds. This is a matter of grave concern to me personally and I know that my colleague, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Doyle, who has responsibility for the greyhound sector, also takes these allegations very seriously. I have also had a large number of representations from Deputy Ferris' constituency colleague, Deputy Griffin, on the issue. He is, of course, concerned about animal welfare and we have had robust discussions. Deputy Griffin shares Deputy Ferris' concerns, as do other Members of the Government. My conversations with Deputy Griffin have been very robust. I would not go as far as to say he is 100% in agreement with me on everything that is being done here but animal welfare is a prime concern which we share.

I welcome the fact that the Minster Of State, Deputy Doyle, is ensuring that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine conducts a thorough investigation and takes the necessary enforcement actions to deal with any offences. While his Department and Bord na gCon are seeking to address the specific issues identified, I am also keenly aware of the reputational damage these alleged practices have done to the Irish greyhound industry. I am very concerned that there could be consequential damage to Ireland's reputation as a tourist destination.

Accordingly, I asked the tourism agencies, Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, in this context to consider what role greyhound racing should continue to play in the marketing and promotion of Ireland. I also asked them to apprise Bord na gCon of any actions they proposed to take. The agencies subsequently informed me that they had met and decided to implement some changes relating to the promotion of greyhound racing in tourism marketing campaigns and on the agencies' websites, pending implementation by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine of several reforms under way and to come.

I am confident that the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, and his Department, in co-operation with Bord na gCon, are working hard to address the issues identified, to take enforcement actions against offences and to set the industry, for which they have great ambitions, back on a positive track. Nonetheless, while we work to right the wrongs and rehabilitate the industry and its reputation, we must be careful not to allow current negative publicity damage our tourism promotions. In that regard, I trust the tourism agencies to act in the best interests of Ireland and Irish tourism, guided by their insights and experience. I am happy with their decision to take a step back from active promotion of greyhound racing at this point in time and to keep the situation under review.

Martin Ferris (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his response. I am not so sure about the justification for penalising more than 99% of the people involved in the industry for the actions of what is probably 1%. It is very wrong and is affecting their livelihood. It has a huge impact on the fabric of their communities because the industry is so greatly involved in local economies. I referred in my opening remarks to the wonderful contribution the greyhound racing makes to various charitable organisations, as well as organisations such as University Hospital Kerry in my constituency, for which events are run to raise money where the Government has failed to deliver.

Were the same stringent criteria applied to other sporting events such as showjumping or horse racing, I am quite sure that were one to look deep enough, one would find some unscrupulous individuals who treat animals terribly. I fully and absolutely concur with the Minister and anybody else who wants to stamp this out. It should be stamped out. It is criminal action and should be treated and dealt with accordingly.

Will the Minister take into account the effects this decision will have for an economy that will be in dire straits if this is allowed to proceed? I hope the recommendations coming from the Minister with the Irish Greyhound Board will be worked out speedily, as we cannot have this type of activity affecting the income of people who have done tremendous services for rural Ireland, for animals generally and especially for charitable organisations that have become dependent on their night at the dogs to raise funds for the Government has failed to meet.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I do not doubt Deputy Ferris’s bona fides on what he says about the greyhound industry or the employment it gives. I accept this is a concern but we must be aware that €16 million in Government money goes to the Irish Greyhound Board. We must be aware that the board commissioned a report from a firm called Preferred Results but when it received that report, it was not published. That report contained some unacceptable findings, including the fact that 6,000 dogs were culled simply because they could not race fast enough and that there was a culture of doing that sort of thing in the industry, which was obviously accepted. On top of this, there were other utterly unacceptable incidents, the frequency of which I am not in a position to tell, happening in the greyhound world. These were carried out on a regular basis. That report was not published until the eve of the broadcast of the programme to which we referred. It seemed to me there was absolutely no anxiety on behalf of the board of directors to make public information that has now been found to be utterly unacceptable. It has cast a dark cloud over the entire industry, which is not of Deputy Ferris's making, but is of the making of those who decided not to publish the report because of the utterly revolting activities that were going on. I did was what I feel was right, namely, that we should not use any promotion of activities that would be seen to condone in any way this disgusting behaviour. This is why I took the action I did and that is why I stand over it.