Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I thank the Minister for taking this Topical Issue matter. We know - and are due to vote on it shortly in this Dáil - that every year, the State gives about €90 million in public funds to the horse and greyhound racing industry. We know that about €70 million of that goes to Horse Racing Ireland, HRI. What is new are the figures. Thanks to an answer to a parliamentary question I tabled, we know how much of that goes to prize money. Some 70% of that €70 million goes to prize money – approximately between €40 million and €45 million. In answers that I have just gotten back from HRI, that to compares with about 7% that goes to animal welfare.

In reality, there is a massive transfer of public money to a small number of multimillionaires who get it tax-free and win it in the form of prize money. That is what is happening in black and white. One can look at the most recent HRI factbook for 2021. The top four winners were J.P. McManus, Michael O’Leary, John Magnier and Michael Tabor. They are all multimillionaires and none of them paid tax on that money. If one goes broader than that, the top ten owners won €11.8 million in one year. This money is not going to the poorly paid people within horse racing. It is going to already super wealthy individuals. One can look at the various races and who is winning. The prize money is concentrated among small number of people who are already very wealthy.

Compare this amount of money with what is spent on other things. Compare it in terms of sports. I know those people who are winning it and the Minister do not like this comparison. However, the total core funding that Sport Ireland gives out on a yearly basis is €15 million, which is for the GAA, the FAI, the IRFU, Swim Ireland, the Special Olympics, Athletics Ireland, HRI, which even gets a bit of that money, and a range of other organisations. That is €15 million altogether compared with €70 million in public money that goes to the horse racing industry, the vast majority of which is used for prize money that ends up in the hands of already extremely rich people. Compare the €70 million to the half of that that is spent on domestic violence refuge shelters and a similar amount of money that is spent in terms of the National Park and Wildlife Service.

At any time of year and in any given context, it would be unconscionable to have such a giveaway of public money to already extremely rich individuals tax-free. However, to have this continuing at a time of a deep cost-of-living crisis when one in three families is suffering from energy poverty and then, in reality, some of their taxes ending up in the hands of multimillionaires who face no cost-of-living crisis whatsoever, is absolutely scandalous. It is ironic we are having this discussion on the day that the Government launched gambling regulation. Why is the betting duty going to the horse and greyhound racing industry as opposed to tackling problem gambling?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I did not hear the Deputy mention once in his contribution the valuable contribution that the thoroughbred and horse racing sectors make to our national economy or indeed the fact that it supports 29,000 jobs across the country and underpins a thoroughbred industry that has an annual economic impact of €1.84 billion. I did not hear him mention that once and I do not think that is something he is too concerned about either. It is one of the sectors and industries in which Ireland is a true global leader. The broad geographic distribution of this industry contributes to the achievement of more balanced regional economic growth and rural economic activity, providing a wide range of employment and income opportunities from stable staff to trainers to jockeys to breeders and farmers.

The support provided by public funds through investment in the industry has enabled Ireland to develop a world-class reputation for excellence in horse racing and breeding. The Irish thoroughbred breeding industry is extremely competitive at a global level. We are the second largest producer of bloodstock in world by value sold after the USA. Ireland has the world’s third highest number of thoroughbreds foaled each year after the USA and Australia.

Successive Governments have acknowledged the importance of this industry and supported it. Horse Racing Ireland, established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001, a commercial State body, is responsible for overall administration, promotion and development of the industry. The horse and greyhound racing industries receive financial support through the Horse and Greyhound Fund. My Department makes payments through HRI and Rásaíocht Con Éireann.

On the current expenditure allocation, no more than 80% is to be applied to prize money. In 2020, €67 million was allocated to HRI from the fund and €76 million last year. In 2020, €54 million of the HRI allocation was assigned for current expenditure. The total prize money paid out in horse racing for 2020 was some €51.5 million, of which HRI contributed €35 million, or 68%. Private sponsorship of prize money was some €16.3 million, of which race horse owners themselves contributed some €11.7 million with the balance of private sponsorship contributed by corporate bodies.

The HRI factbook for 2021 shows that there were 394 fixtures, with 8,700 individual runners and 25% of these horses winning at least one race. More than 6,000 of the individual runners won prize money at some stage, which equates to around 69% of individual runners.

We are not outliers in this space. The support provided by public funds through investment in this industry has enabled us to develop a world-class reputation for excellence in horse racing and breeding. Horse racing in other major jurisdictions is also funded by government, either directly or indirectly. Ireland’s racing industry obviously is in direct competition with Britain, France, Australia, America and Hong Kong, for example. The global nature of the racing and breeding industry means that these countries compete for the same pool of foreign direct investment, which ultimately fuels horses and training and therefore employment. In France, there is approximately €400 million in government support per annum. In Hong Kong, the state supports are approximately €800 million per annum. In Australia, returns to racing differ from state to state, however, in the state of Victoria, for example, this amounted to the equivalent of €251 million in revenue in the years 2020 and 2021.

The owners of race horses who earn prize money are not subject to taxation in respect of this income. Race horse trainers and jockeys, however, are subject to taxation. There is no revelation in that our horse racing and thoroughbred sectors are truly world class. To conclude, we perform way beyond our size and scale. This is a sector that supports thousands of jobs in rural parishes across the country and is one that we should definitely support.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I did not hear the Minister mention J.P. McManus, Michael O’Leary or John Magnier, not to mention the various people who are not living in this country who are in receipt of this public money.

If one cuts out all the propaganda, the Government is choosing to give more than €40 million of public money every year to people who are already multimillionaires. That is what is happening. The Minister can talk about the industry, how successful it is and so on, and that is fine; I agree. However, that is not an argument to use the industry to give tens of millions of euro to people who are already very rich. That is an argument to say the industry can fund itself, as is the case in many other countries. There is an idea that Ireland is not an outlier and there is a reason why Irish prize money is so high. It is so high because of the extra public money that is provided. The industry would be capable of paying for its prize money, rather than having the majority of it paid by the public, through broadcasting rights, entry fees, sponsorship, breeding and bloodstock sales to name but a few potential areas of income.

The bottom line here is that it is a political choice to hand over this money. I do not think that is justified on its own terms. Horse racing is not the poor relation of all the other sports in the country that have more people participating in them. That does not justify the choice. At least the Minister did not make the argument that Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, has made. It has stated it is not in receipt of any taxpayers' money because all its money is raised from the betting tax. That tax is paid by ordinary people. That brings me to the following point. Does the Minister not accept that this money that is raised from taxes on gambling should be spent on tackling the problem of gambling addiction and problem gambling, which the Government has spoken at length about today?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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If the Deputy crossed the M50 on occasions other than just to attend protests in parts of the country-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I actually live outside the M50.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Do you?

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I do. I have to cross the M50 twice a day.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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If the Deputy headed west, north or south for any reason other than attending protests, he would learn quickly that the thoroughbred and racing sectors are important employers and important parts of the rural economy. As I said to the Deputy, and he did not reference this in his response, the industry is responsible for and contributes to 29,000 jobs in the country. The thoroughbred sector in this country competes with anywhere in the world in its scale and the global impact it makes. We have jobs and €1.8 billion worth of economic activity as a result of that industry.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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We are not getting that money.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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That has not happened by accident. It is the result of deliberate and consistent Government policy which underpins the sector. If the Deputy travelled for anything other than protests, he might attend a race meeting now and again-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I go to race meetings.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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-----and learn and realise that the thoroughbred industry revolves around racing. Horses are bred and trained for racing. The industry revolves around races. It is, therefore, important that we have racing in this country that can compete with the rest of the world to underpin the sector. That is why the Government invests in the sector. That investment ensures the sector continues and grows. It ensures that we can compete with racing industries in other parts of the world and continue to be world leaders. In doing so, we continue to ensure this country can be strong. Racing can contribute to our strong economy, which has full employment, instead of the basket case of a country we would be if we followed the Deputy's protocols-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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The Minister has not said a word about problem gambling on a day when we have discussed gambling regulation.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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-----for how to run the thoroughbred sector-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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We are handing public money to the industry.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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-----or any other part of the economy.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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That is scandalous.