Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2025, copies of which were laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on the 16th October, 2025.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to address an important topic, namely, the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2025. I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae.

The horse and greyhound industries are an important part of Ireland’s economy and cultural heritage. Both sectors help promote balanced economic growth across Ireland, as they provide significant economic and social benefit to rural communities. Their importance has been acknowledged by successive Governments, and they are supported through legislation and policy initiatives.

Exchequer funding provided for the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund plays a crucial role in both underpinning these sectors and supporting their continued development. This Government funding, in addition to supporting these key industries, also presents an excellent opportunity for a strong return on investment.

The horse and greyhound racing industries receive financial support from the State through the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund, under section 12 of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001. Payments are made from the fund to Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, and to Rásaíocht Con Éireann, RCÉ. Since 2001, a total of €1.8 billion has been paid from the fund to the horse and greyhound racing industries in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

The cumulative upper limit on payments from the fund, provided for under the relevant regulations, has been reached. To give effect to the provisions of budget 2026, this cumulative upper limit must be increased by regulation. The Estimates for my Department, passed by both Houses as part of budget 2026, include an allocation of €99.1 million for the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund. This will be distributed in accordance with section 12(6) of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001, with 80%, or €79.3 million, going to HRI, and 20%, equating to €19.8 million, going to RCÉ. To allow my Department to provide the moneys allocated in budget 2026, it is necessary to comply with the technical requirement, under section 12(13) of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, to increase the cumulative limit on the amount payable from the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund by €99.1 million, to some €1.9 billion. This is achieved by way of the regulations submitted to the House today.

I will now focus a little on each industry, starting with the horse racing sector. The horse racing industry is a cornerstone of Ireland's rural economy. According to the 2023 Deloitte report on the social and economic impact of Irish thoroughbred breeding and racing, it is estimated that the Irish thoroughbred industry has an annual economic impact of €2.46 billion. This represents a 34% increase from 2016. The sector also supports approximately 30,000 direct and indirect jobs, the majority of which are based in rural Ireland. It has an extraordinary reputation for breeding and racing. Government funding has been a key driver in retaining this status over many years, with the Irish racing and breeding industry shown to attract in excess of €550 million in foreign direct investment each year.

Irish-trained horses continue to perform exceptionally at international events, including in the UK, France and the US, and highlight Ireland's world-class breeding, training and racing talent. This success cannot be taken for granted.

The welfare of people and animals remains a key priority, as outlined in HRI's current strategic plan. HRI is committed to maintaining the highest standards of care and welfare, both on and away from the racetrack. This includes providing supports for organisations, including the Irish Horse Racing Regulatory Board, IHRB, to ensure the health and welfare of all horses. My Department will continue to back both HRI and the IHRB in these efforts.

Turning to the greyhound racing sector, the 2021 Power report highlighted that the industry provides and supports considerable employment across the Irish economy. In 2019, it was estimated to have supported over 4,000 direct and indirect jobs. The sector's foundation is built on over 6,000 active and enthusiastic greyhound owners. As a long-standing tradition, the greyhound racing industry supports significant economic activity nationwide. Funding for this sector is especially important for rural Ireland. The industry’s future relies on a strong governance platform and the upholding of the highest standards of integrity and welfare, supported by a robust regulatory system. Government support is directly contingent on RCÉ annually guaranteeing that these welfare standards are strictly upheld, aligning with the programme for Government's commitment to improved animal welfare and traceability.

RCÉ remains fully committed to upholding the highest standards of greyhound racing welfare and integrity. It continues to operate an ever-expanding care and welfare programme, utilising income from the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund towards the implementation of the highest possible welfare standards at kennels and racing facilities throughout the country and to rehoming activities. The ongoing welfare and integrity initiatives operated by the industry are pivotal. The work of RCÉ underscores this commitment, having conducted almost 2,500 inspections in the past year, the second highest annual figure on record. The industry maintains a zero tolerance approach to any breaches, demonstrating its commitment to the highest standards.

RCÉ is fully committed to developing, managing and promoting a successful and commercially sustainable greyhound racing industry which meets the highest possible international regulatory and welfare standards. It will continue to be proactively governed by my Department.

The programme for Government is committed to supporting rural communities and these industries continue to contribute to rural economic activity and employment. The two industries are key to balancing regional economic growth and both continue to provide a range of benefits for many rural locations. These benefits must not be overlooked. The Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund has played a key role in providing this investment and it has been instrumental in the shaping of these industries and the many livelihoods they support.

I want to mention one further matter. Following a request from the Committee of Public Accounts, my Department commissioned an external review of the governance of the fund and its recipient bodies in the context of the current legislative and policy framework. This review has now been completed and a copy of the final report was sent to the public accounts committee last week. One of the report's key recommendations is to increase, over the medium term, the share of the fund ring-fenced for welfare purposes. I assure the House that my Department will work with the bodies to implement this and other recommendations contained in the report in the coming months. Accordingly, I am seeking the House's support to ensure that Horse Racing Ireland and Rásaíocht Con Éireann receive the funding provided for in budget 2026 and that the important role played by these industries, and the economic activity generated by them, are sustained into the future.

I commend this regulation to the House and I look forward to listening to the views expressed and being able to respond to them later on.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I acknowledge the Minister's commitment to the horse and greyhound racing industries and to ensuring they achieve their maximum potential.

The world-class reputation for excellence in horse racing, greyhound racing and breeding that Ireland enjoys today has been enabled by the support provided through public funds. I thank the Minister, the programme for Government and previous Governments, which have ensured that public funds to into these two important industries.

I also recognise the Minister's requirement that at least 10% of public funding be used to support welfare and safety in the greyhound industry. There are many people, including maybe some in this Chamber, who think this funding should not be made available. I remind them that people love their greyhounds. People might not take account of this. For example, in County Kerry, we have Mr. Liam Dowling and his family. He is what I would call "a shining light" in the greyhound industry. He is respected throughout Kerry, Ireland and Europe for the way he takes care of his greyhounds, the way he breeds them and the excellent way that he and his family conduct their business. It is not just a business, however; it is the love of dogs.

On Friday and Saturday nights, I can go to the greyhound track in Tralee, and I know I am biased because I go there and love to see the greyhounds racing. I see the way the greyhounds are brought there and cared for after a race and the loving nature of the people who own them. What is lovely to see is that the new generation of young people, who will be there when the Minister, the Members present and I will no longer be there, will carry on that tradition of racing greyhounds because they love their dogs and the dogs love being raced.

There are people inside here who have no regard whatsoever for rural pursuits like that. They do not appreciate, for example, that track in Tralee and the way funds are raised there every week. It could be for our local hospital for cancer care or it could be for local schools. It is a community-type of a gathering and event. It is a safe place. There is food and beverages and, of course, the greyhounds. It is a social outlet. I meet older people who I might not get to meet at all under normal circumstances. They get the bus or pool together and come for a night out and it is a great social occasion.

There is also the small matter of jobs. This is a massive industry in rural Ireland. There are 4,000 direct and indirect jobs and 6,000 active owners. Horse racing provides 30,000 direct and indirect jobs.

I always tell a story about one Sunday morning when I was on a certain road heading down to a beach and met a man coming up against me with quite a good motor car. It was a fairly fresh new motor car. He was after having his greyhound down on the beach that morning because it was good for the greyhound to walk on the sand. Where was the dog? It was inside in the back seat of the car standing up. The man was as proud as punch after carrying his dog out for the walk in the morning and a bit of a run on the beach.

Again, I put on record these are people who love their greyhounds. They care for them and nurture them. To think there are people here this evening who would totally disregard this and want to starve them of much-needed public funding is wrong, but everybody is entitled to their opinion.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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As we know, each year we go through this process for the horse and greyhound industry to get this very large amount of public funding. It is a large amount of public funding and we have to place it in the context of the situation in the country. Every day, we come in here and talk about our hospitals, health services and education system, and places where we have resource difficulties and not enough money in place to deal with them, yet, we have this large amount of money going to these two industries. That is why it is so important we have proper governance in place. Everyone recognises that.

The Minister mentioned the Indecon report into the industry, which has a number of recommendations. Those recommendations are very important, particularly when it comes to the welfare of animals. One of the other recommendations that a lot of people would have an issue with, and some raised eyebrows about, relates to the amount of money that goes towards prize funds. Naturally enough, we see many of those, when we look at the very big horse races in particular. Those who walk around the ring having won the prize funds are the very wealthiest and most elite in our society. There needs to be a certain balance there. That needs to be said.

However, we also recognise that the Irish horse is renowned throughout the world. We have an industry that brings great credit to the people who are part of that industry, work so hard in it and deliver so much for it. The huge investment, time and effort that goes into that needs to be rewarded and recognised. We also have to recognise the people who work in the industry at every level of it, from those mucking out the stables, riding out the horses and doing all that work, to the breeders and everyone involved in the horse racing industry, all of whom have a great love of their animals. They have not just a tradition but a sense, including in my own family going way back, who were people who had horses and used to say this, that the horse is in the person. That was the type of connection that was there. We have a similar thing in the greyhound industry. I know many people in that industry who breed greyhounds and are part of that. They have a great love and affection for their animals, and want to work with them and be part of it. It was mentioned that these are rural pursuits, but they are very much urban pursuits, particularly the greyhound part of it. A lot of people in a lot of towns are involved in greyhounds and all of that.

There will be the very odd time, and isolated incident, where people will not be good to their animals. Where cruelty or neglect is involved, or any of these things happen, we need to ensure there is absolute full adherence and the full rigours of the law are brought to bear in respect of that because it brings an entire set of people into disrepute. We need to ensure that is done, which is why we need the recommendations of the report on the welfare of animals, particularly in the greyhound sector. We need to ensure the Minister funds that and the recommendation that a certain amount of the funds be ring-faced for that is actually put in place.

It was raised, legitimately enough, that quite a lot of money is being spent on care centres for greyhounds. When we look at the number of dogs that are rehomed and compare the cost of it, it seems a very high price is being paid for a small number of dogs to be rehomed. That is something the Minister should look at or examine. We certainly do not want an accusation coming out that somebody, somewhere, is using the system for their benefit rather than the benefit of dogs and the welfare of animals. One of the criticisms there has been in the past is that this has happened.

We have improved a lot in the last number of years. There is still a distance to go. The Indecon report that has come out points to some of the direction that needs to go in. There also needs to be an examination of those who work in the industry. A lot of them are sometimes people who come from abroad to Ireland. They are international workers who come here to work in the industry. How they are treated, looked after, properly remunerated and all of that also needs to be brought into sharp focus. We do not want anything to throw a shadow over any industry in this country. Certainly, this industry is one we need to ensure we have the maximum amount of responsibility around because of the very large amount of public funding that goes toward it.

Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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Every year, this item comes before the Dáil and, too often, it presents as a black and white issue. As someone who grew up surrounded by greyhounds, was then involved in the thoroughbred sector for over 30 years and worked on stud farms across Ireland and England, I can tell you it is anything but. Animal welfare is an issue that is rightly raised. For the vast majority of us, these animals are treated as an extension of our own family. The children the Minister of State spoke about were like me as a child, and the pride you would have walking back in with your winner. Most of those greyhounds lived in our house half the time. They spent the last days of their lives on the end of our beds. They were like an extension of our family.

We need to see part of these funds allocated to the enforcement of welfare laws for all equine and dog breeds. We need real reforms to strengthen equine identification, traceability and welfare, considering not a single person has been prosecuted for failing to register equines in the past three years, despite widespread repeated offences. Horses are being neglected across Ireland right now. This is happening in rural Ireland and in our cities too. The Minister has said in the past that his Department takes equine welfare most seriously. He may believe that but with no prosecutions for horse neglect in the first half of this year, just four in 2024 and three in 2023, it certainly does not look like the Department is taking enforcement seriously. We need to see the agencies responsible for enforcement resourced properly so they can be effective.

We cannot let the minority drag the vast majority of responsible trainers and owners down. We need strong enforcement and real accountability. As I said, I spent over 30 years of my life in this sector. I still keep a couple of horses on our farm in south Kilkenny. I see the incredible impact this sector has across rural communities and the ripple effect of so much employment, not just the local vet. This ripple goes on to local shops, cafés and so on. We should be proud of those working in this sector and the exceptionally high standard of horses we have bred over the years. When I worked in England, Irish staff were very much the gold standard and highly sought after. This did not happen by chance. This is down to generational expertise and passion that has been passed on. We should learn from that and not just limit that potential of this funding. It should go beyond the thoroughbred sector.

At the Tullow agri-show, I met a fantastic group working with one of our native breeds; the Kerry bog pony. They does brilliant work but are left operating on a shoestring. We should strive to be world leaders in all aspects of equine, from the thoroughbred breeds and showjumpers all the way to our own native breeds.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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I move amendment No.1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: notes that:

— while it is acknowledged that the horse and greyhound racing sectors do not qualify for sports capital funding, they are unique in Irish sport in that they are supported by the State through their own ring-fenced statutory fund;

— payments into the Fund have increased from €68 million in 2015, up to the €99.1 million proposed for 2026, and that the total allocated to the Fund since 2001, is likely to exceed €2 billion by 2027;

— there is a question as to the continuing appropriateness of the indexation formula that is intended to provide a floor for Exchequer payments into the Fund, linked to receipts from excise duty on off-course betting;

— while up to 2009 the statutory indexation formula was followed, the Minister for Finance has confirmed that the formula was abandoned in 2009, without any enabling change in the Act, and that the approach since then has been for a unilateral decision by Government on the amount to be provided to the Fund in each year;

— a significant amount of the Fund is used for prizes, which seems to benefit those who are most successful, and no independent economic or social impact analysis has been carried out to determine the best use of this resource;

— although in the intervening years there have been reports of serious animal welfare concerns in both sectors, there is a lack of clear statutory conditionality that would make any State financial support conditional on rigorous animal welfare criteria being satisfied, nor are any conditions related to workers' rights in the sector attached to the funding; and

believes therefore that the funding model under section 12 of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001, is in urgent need of comprehensive review and replacement, beyond the scope of the recent Indecon governance review submitted to the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts, and calls on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to carry out such a full and independent review of the Fund, including in particular with recommendations on:

— how best to support these sectors, its economic value, those involved in it and rural communities;

— measures needed to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare are implemented and complied with;

— how the rights of workers in the sector can be improved and an employment regulation order introduced to set minimum rates of pay and conditions; and

— whether and how funding for these sectors and other sports should be aligned;

the review to be laid before both Houses within six months, with a view to amending legislation being in place well before the anticipated date of any further presentation of draft regulations under this section for the approval of the Houses; and

approves the following Regulations in draft:

Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2025,

copies of which were laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on the 16th October, 2025.".

I will pick up a point put across by the Minister of State on an urban versus rural divide here. That is overly simplistic, although I am not saying it is the only point he made. I grew up in a working-class area of Dublin. Many people in that area raised and raced greyhounds. There are a number of distinctions. Deputy Kenny raised that those of us in urban settings have seen, at least on the greyhound side, families who have been involved in it. There are class distinctions here as well in terms of working-class pursuits, etc. There is a whole host of complexities, heritages and everything. That is not lost on people on this side of the House, whether they are from an urban or rural area.

Taking all that in, we have to make an analysis of whether this model of funding, which is what we are voting on, is a model that can be stood over in terms of everything we know and what comes back. It is not an easy question to answer, but it is one we have to answer and deal with differently. This legislation has been in place since 2001. Aspects of it, such as allocations of excise duty on betting and the indexation referred to in section 12 of the Act, have been abandoned yet remain on the Statute Book, ignored by the Government. Nearly €100 million is to be allocated this year. By 2027, over €2 billion will have been allocated through the fund to two specific sectors, namely, horse racing and greyhound racing. No other pursuit or sport gets such generous and dedicated stand-alone funding from the State and none that is voted on by the Oireachtas every year.

This fund started off with the proceeds of the betting levy.

None of it goes on football, for example, for which a huge number of bets are laid in Ireland. For years, the Labour Party has been calling for an increase in that levy to fund investment in community sporting facilities, improved pitches and critically a programme to transform Irish football. It is long overdue that a full review is carried out on the purpose of this fund, and not just a desk-based governance review as was carried out by INDECON this year for the Department at the request of the public accounts committee. For that report, INDECON only consulted with the Department, Horse Racing Ireland, Greyhound Racing Ireland - Rásíocht con Éireann - the IHRB and their own in-house or self-commissioned reports. It did not carry out its own independent economic evaluation. There was no public consultation, nor did it engage with animal welfare organisations or community groups, workers' representatives or examine what is happening in other jurisdictions and what best practice is. It was not asked to consider whether the fund itself is the best model. It did conclude that more needed to be done on welfare, including the setting of targets. This is why a comprehensive review and replacement of the current arrangements is necessary and is what we propose in our amendment. This is the fourth year we have sought this. We know both horse racing and greyhound breeding support jobs and rural communities in particular and has a heritage in many areas and families. As I mentioned, that is not lost on us. However, we know there are significant animal welfare issues across both codes. The treatment of greyhounds has been well documented in recent years. Progress may have been made but more certainly needs to be done and independent oversight is needed. We can see the direction of travel with regard to the greyhound industry in other jurisdictions. Similar welfare issues impact horse racing. It is nearly 18 months since "RTÉ Investigates" revealed the treatment of horses at an equine abattoir, which raised questions about what happened after their racing career ended. Since that exposé Labour has called for an equine traceability scheme that covers the full life cycle of an animal.

It is not just animal welfare concerns this amendment seeks to address. While hundreds of millions are invested in stud farms, breeding and horse racing every year there are serious problems for many of those working in the sector on awful terms and conditions. There was a report last summer that An Garda investigated an allegation that a worker from Pakistan was illegally trafficked into Ireland to work at the stable of a leading horse trainer in County Kilkenny. It followed a WRC award of €86,000 in pay to that worker due to a breach of minimum wage and employment law by the trainer, Tony Mullins. The worker had been required to work 13 out of 14 days, was on weekly pay of €350 with €100 of that paid in cash. He was given accommodation but not given holidays for over two years. He worked an average of 56 hours per week over two years before being unfairly dismissed. This report should have set alarm bells ringing the way the previous reports on animal welfare should have. There should be a full review into terms and conditions of workers in this sector considering the State continues to invest millions in it every year. We encourage all Members to support our amendment.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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It will come as no surprise to the Minister that I and the Social Democrats will not be supporting this motion. I am speaking specifically about the greyhound industry. This is not a technical matter, it is a question of ethics, accountability and the use of public money. The cruelty in the greyhound industry is well documented and undeniable. While on Irish tracks these dogs are regularly recorded with broken legs, crushed vertebrae, ruptured tendons and catastrophic spinal injuries. Some of these injuries are so severe that the dogs are euthanised on-site. Some can be treated but they are not economically worth it for the industry. Greyhounds are routinely killed simply because they cannot run fast enough. How could I support this motion to approve €20 million in public money for Greyhound Racing Ireland?

The Minister has claimed that animal welfare standards are rising all the time. How can that claim stand against the overwhelming evidence? Last year was the worst year ever for track deaths and injuries since records began. Some 202 dogs died and 187 were injured. In the first eight months of this year alone, 242 injuries were recorded, and 134 dogs were euthanised by track vets. Since 2014 there have been 3,938 injuries and 1,534 deaths have occurred during races. That is only what is recorded. There are no comprehensive figures for trial events and there no vets present at those events, so the real figures are undoubtedly much higher. Traceability was presented as the solution, but instead it has just exposed the depth of the crisis. According to Greyhound Racing Ireland's own system, of the greyhounds born in 2021, 41% are dead or unaccounted for. These dogs are not even five years old. RTÉ's 2019 documentary, "Greyhounds: Running for their Lives", revealed the same mortality rate. Six years on nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. Does that look like an improvement in welfare to the Minister?

Then there is the cost. GRI claims to spend millions on welfare, but the figures tell a different story. In 2024, more than €1 million was spent on care homes for retired greyhounds. That was over €8,000 per dog and only ten dogs at a time can be cared for. We are being asked to approve a motion that allocates almost €20 million to prop up a declining industry. We are one of only seven countries in the world where commercial greyhound racing is still legal, and that industry does not even enjoy public support. Tracks are between 70% and 91% empty. Attendance dropped by 25,000 last year alone. Why are we spending millions to sustain a system that produces broken bones and early death? It is a system within which animals are treated as commodities rather than living beings.

I cannot possibly support this motion when we do not have up-to-date or reliable data to prove its need. The economic justification for this funding rests on the Jim Power report, published in 2021 and based on figures from 2019. That report claims the industry is worth €132 million and supports 4,500 jobs. However, an alternative professional's review found that the report overstated the industry's value by €68 million. The Jim Power report included hare coursing litters and dogs from Northern Ireland, and it used incorrect assumptions about racing and retirement ages.

How can we justify this level of public funding without current and credible data? For everything I have laid out I cannot support this motion, and the Social Democrats will not be supporting it. We will also not be supporting the Labour Party amendment because that in itself is giving an out for the industry. The funding for this industry needs to stop. I cannot understand how the Minister could possibly put forward this motion or whose interests he is really lobbying for with it. He is clearly not here on behalf of greyhounds, and he is not representing the views of the Irish public. This is another year where we have this debate about greyhound racing and the use, indeed the wastage, of €20 million of public money on this industry. It is an industry that is cruel, that is not supported by the public and that belongs in the past. Twenty million euro is such an enormous amount of money. Can you imagine the good that €20 million could do? That €20 million could be used to fund hospices for children because at the moment those hospices have to fundraise to keep their doors open. That money could be used to build refuges for women. We have International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women this week and there are nine counties in this country that do not have refuges for women who face domestic violence. That money would go a long way to supporting women who face that horror at home every day. It could be something simple like making sure that hospital parking is free for people who need it regularly. There is so much good that could be done every year with €20 million and there are so many people who need it.

To the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, I know many of the greyhound owners love their animals but not all of them do. There are inherent problems in this industry that are not getting any better. I agree with my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, that this is not a rural-urban divide. I grew up on a working-class estate and you would often see the greyhound owners out walking their dogs. They loved their dogs as well. There is a difference between accepting that people can love greyhounds and handing over €20 million to support an industry that should not exist anymore in this country. It simply should not. This is about where we put our money, what value we put on that money and what we prioritise in this country. My preference, and that of the Social Democrats, would be that money is used for the public good, and that we look particularly at vulnerable people in our country to see where the gaps are and what we need to do to support them and put that money there instead.

It should not be going to a dying industry like greyhound racing.

The Social Democrats, year in, year out, will vote against this motion. We express our concerns about the industry. We call on the Government to do something about it and ask that it not waste public money here. We are one of the very few Opposition parties that have called for this to end. I know People Before Profit and Solidarity have also. It is very important to us as a party that public money is spent for the good of the public and not on a very small group of people, a huge number of whom cannot look after the animals they purport to love.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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As we discuss the public funding of the greyhound racing industry, I want to raise some concerning information my office uncovered recently. For the past number of months, I have been submitting parliamentary questions to the Department and to Rásaíocht Con Éireann seeking data on the status of racing greyhounds in Ireland. This follows the reports from the Irish Examiner last year that nearly 2,800 racing greyhounds born in 2021 and registered in Ireland, more than a fifth, were either dead or unaccounted for. The recent data I have obtained from Rásaíocht Con Éireann shows further concerning data from that 2021 cohort. As recently as 24 September of this year, 2,415 racing greyhounds born in 2021 were recorded as still active on the Rásaíocht Con Éireann traceability system. These dogs are now aged between 48 and 60 months, which is absolutely at the upper limit at which dogs might still actively race. Are we to believe that these 2,415 dogs are still being actively raced well beyond their expected retirement? When my office sought information about the status of those dogs on the race management system, which would show how many of these dogs had raced in the past 42 days, Rásaíocht Con Éireann refused to provide that information repeatedly. Essentially, it will not tell us the status of this cohort of dogs. Where are these dogs? Are they alive? Are they homed? How many of them have been culled? Throughout this debate there is a constant refrain from the Minister that welfare is improving in the greyhound industry but when there is a failure by a State body to be transparent with facts, it is indicative of an industry that is not taking welfare seriously. I would really appreciate if the Ministers could come back to me in writing on this. It is something I have been pursuing at length over the past few months.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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It is very important that the Minister does not beat the rural-urban drum that he has been trying to beat on every animal welfare issue. We have greyhounds in Dublin, we have foxes in Dublin and we have horses in Dublin, and most of us living in an urban area are a generation away from a rural one anyway. The fact that €100 million is being given to the racehorse and greyhound industry is absolutely scandalous.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Jesus Christ.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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I will devote most of my remarks to the greyhound industry but I will mention that horse racing is endemically linked with gambling, which is a real scourge and an addiction. There have been programmes broadcast throughout the week on that.

Some €20 million is to be given to the greyhound industry. Animal welfare charities were given €6 million. Last year the ISPCA was given €1.2 million, which was €868 per dog to house, while the greyhound industry got €8,000 per dog. What is so special about this industry that it gets so much more money than other animal industries? In addition, 41% of dogs born in 2021 for the industry are dead or unaccounted for, and the figures are getting worse. Last year 5% of all dogs that raced were dead by the end of the race or very shortly after.

It should be noted how unpopular this sport is. Also, it cannot exist without the State funding. The State funding is literally propping up a decaying industry. We can cite the figures but that is the reality. Why? There are other industries we could prop up. We do not need to prop up something that is cruel to the animals involved, linked with gambling and not very attractive to watch.

I was asked by Greyhound Action Ireland to ask the Minister whether he can clarify an update on the figures he is using to justify the industry. The industry, he says, generates €132 million to the Exchequer. Could he break that down for us, please? How could it generate that for the Exchequer when it is literally being propped up by the Exchequer? Turnout at all the stadiums has fallen by about two thirds. The figures also presume racing careers of 48 months rather than the actual nine months. That is how long an animal can expect to make money for its owner. Six thousand pups are unaccounted for, as was said.

This is a dying industry. In Scotland and Wales they have banned it. I think they have just banned it in New Zealand. It is really time Ireland caught up. Leo Varadkar described us as a laggard in animal rights. Unfortunately, he did not do a lot about it but now we have a chance to do this. This is an industry that is fundamentally cruel, and it is very sad that we have an animal-hating cabal in the centre of the Department of agriculture right now.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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That is a shocking statement.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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This is the 12th time I have been in here and asked to vote for a huge amount of money to be handed over to the horse and greyhound racing industry. This year what we are asked to vote for is €100 million, about €20 million to greyhound racing and about €80 million to horse racing. To put that in context, that is close to the total funding for Sport Ireland. It is more than three times the amount of core funding given to the 87 different sports bodies in this country, adding together the GAA, the FAI, Swim Ireland, Athletics Ireland and Special Olympics Ireland. It is a yearly scandal now decades long. This is €100 million to a gambling-fuelling, addiction-fuelling industry. Where does the money go? Does it fund the welfare of horses and greyhounds? Does it fight the scourge of gambling addiction? Does it assure decent pay for workers in the sector? Of course not. The vast majority of this money goes to prize money, public money paid by the State tax-free into the pockets of the wealthy owners. The horse racing owners are a who's who of the richest people in this country. The Department of agriculture itself allows that €75 million of this money, over three quarters, can go into prize money. We do not have to look very far to find some of these owners, in particular greyhound owners. The greyhound racing scandal of 2019 highlighted by the "RTÉ Investigates" programme "Greyhounds: Running for Their Lives" highlighted the fact that 14 sitting Fine Gael TDs formed a syndicate and bought a racing dog, Swift Starlet. Of course, some of the same TDs stood up in the Dáil in 2011, like many here today, speaking about how great this cruel industry is.

Internationally, people are moving to ban greyhound racing - Wales, Scotland, New Zealand. Instead, we are funnelling more and more money into an industry that would not exist without it. Last year I raised the fact that almost 3,000 of the 12,500 racing greyhounds born in 2021 were already dead or unaccounted for just three years later. How high is that number now? A report commissioned by the Minister has said that the welfare of racing greyhounds in Ireland is an "existential issue" for the industry. Of course it is. With dogs dying on the tracks, freezers for dead dogs at every single racetrack across the country, and a quarter of Irish racing greyhounds dead before their third or fourth year, how could ordinary people possibly be happy with it?

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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Strangely, I was talking there to Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice, who said that the agriculture committee is meeting below and he would like to be up here speaking today, and it was committee members who approved of this funding in the first place last week. It is unfortunate there is a clash. It should not have happened. I apologise for Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice not being here but I will speak on his behalf and speak in support of the motion. A huge thank you to the Minister and the Minister of State across the way for a common-sense approach is being taken. To listen to some of the nonsensical arguments of the other side, I do not know what world they are living in because they are not living in the one I am in.

I acknowledge the tremendous work being done by Independent Ireland's spokesperson on equine issues, Councillor Bill Clear. Bill has been a tireless advocate for the people, the jobs and the communities that make up Ireland's equestrian sector, and we are grateful for his leadership.

Ireland's equestrian industry is far more than a tradition or a pastime; it is one of the most important economic pillars we have, across breeding, racing, sport horses, veterinary work, tourism, transport and farm management. This sector supports around 30,000 jobs. These are real jobs in real communities sustaining families and keeping rural Ireland alive. Economically, the contribution is enormous. The equine industry generates over €2 billion every year from racing and festivals to bloodstock sales, from training yards to farriers and feed suppliers.

4 o’clock

This activity ripples to every corner of the country. Ireland stands as the world leader in thoroughbred production per capita. No other country matches our reputation for breeding excellence. Our foals, our bloodlines and our horsemanship are recognised worldwide. Buyers come from the Middle East, America, Australia, Japan, Britain and across Europe because they know Irish horses are the best in the world. Our successes on the international stage prove it. Irish-bred and Irish-trained horses dominate at Cheltenham, at the Grand National, at Royal Ascot and across the major classics. Irish stallions have sired winners at the Kentucky Derby, the Melbourne Cup and right across Europe. We are home to global powerhouses like Coolmore which has made Ireland the beating heart of world breeding.

Our racing festivals - Punchestown, Galway and the Irish Champions Festival - are among the finest anywhere. They attract owners, trainers and visitors from around the world and help showcase Ireland at its very best. When we speak about protecting this industry, we speak about protecting jobs communities and our national reputation for excellence. We speak about safeguarding rural Ireland. We speak about an industry that is not simply part of our heritage but a global powerhouse that continues to deliver for this country year after year.

Independent Ireland stands firmly behind the sector and with the leadership of Councillor Bill Clear we will continue to champion its importance in government, in policy and in every community that depends on it. We will not stand for the banning of the greyhound industry. We will stand up for and praise those people who have these greyhounds. I listened to criticism from the Social Democrats during the debate on a motion a couple years ago when they picked out the wrong type of dog; they did not even know what a greyhound was. The point is that I went to visit these greyhound farms and I saw the beautiful way these animals were treated with the utmost respect. I would ask people, instead of coming in here shouting and roaring and criticising negatively every day of the week, they should get into the car and-----

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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The Deputy can get into his car and-----

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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The Deputy had her time to speak; this is my time.

They should get into the car and go down to visit one of these farms. They need not bother pre-empting the visit because those running the farms are quite proud to have them come to see the way these dogs, these greyhounds, are being looked after and to see the way these beautiful horses are being looked after. They should be proud of the Irish people and proud of what we can deliver, instead of trodding on the Irish people the whole time for something that we do well.

I thank the Ministers for providing this funding. Some 30,000 jobs would go out the window if those on the right side of me in this building had their day today. Those 30,000 jobs would go straightaway. It is scandalous.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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It used part of our heritage that if a woman opened her mouth, men were able to dunk her in the river. Thousands of jobs were created in rural areas because of Magdalen laundries. Do people want to keep that going? No, it is old school. We have learned our lesson. Greyhound racing is old school as well. I am opposing this motion on the basis that horse racing has serious issues and greyhound racing cannot be redeemed. I support the amendment not because I think it is strong enough but because passing it would be progress, however incremental.

I said previously that greyhound racing should banned outright. It is happening elsewhere, as others have mentioned. We risk being left behind in terms of calling ourselves a progressive country. It is an industry, not a sport and one that has been subject of multiple scandals involving cruelty and mistreatment of animals. It has very little public support any more even rural areas and stadiums are hardly ever full to capacity. Deputy Whitmore mentioned that they are 75% to 90% empty, showing that there is little appetite among the Irish public. The industry would not survive without taxpayer funding and it is not volunteer driven like many sports.

Greyhounds have short lives in this cruel business. There are high injury and death rates. I will not go into the death rates which were mentioned earlier. The dogs are killed when the injuries are too serious or when they are no longer economically viable. We have also had many reports of neglect and abandonment. Greyhounds are often exported to countries with even weaker animal protection laws. Let us be clear; it is all about the gambling. There are no health benefits for people participating in the sector and no benefit for the dogs themselves. The sport's purpose these days has shifted from local community meets where no one turns up any more to generating betting products for international markets rather than community entertainment which was a weak argument back in the day but an argument, nonetheless. As others have said, the money is going towards prizes but even after the Indecon report, there has been little or no progress. It needs to end imminently.

I know there are jobs involved which is why we should follow the lead of organisations like Dogs Trust Ireland and the ISPCA that have called for a phased closure, citing unnecessary and preventable deaths. A phased ban would work. It should be wound down slowly over three or four years. We should focus on animal welfare, economic transition and supporting communities in creating jobs. For example, we could have stricter enforcement of welfare standards while winding it down; increased money for rehoming programmes and adopting dogs; and restrictions on breeding. If the greyhound stadiums around the country were repurposed, it could unlock huge community benefits for sport, culture and social connections. Tracks could be converted into pitches, indoor fitness centres and youth training academies in partnership with local clubs. Let the industry manage these. Let there be an income for the communities. Let there be an income and jobs for the people working in the greyhound industry. We have to move with the times. There is no point looking to the past for a dying industry that cannot survive without subsidies. Let us get real.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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All of us in Fianna Fáil absolutely welcome this debate and fully support the motion. The only difficulty I have with it is that I wish an awful lot more money was being put into the greyhound and horse racing industries. I have never heard as much horse manure in my life than what I heard from some of the previous speakers who obviously do not have a clue about rural Ireland. They do not have a bull's notion about the impact and the vital role in the rural and regional economy provided by the greyhound industry and the horse racing industry. The horse and greyhound industries should be recognised for the considerable contribution they make to rural economic activity and employment in all corners of the country.

I acknowledge and thank the previous Minister for agriculture, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, who allocated over €1 million for the Kilkenny dog track last year to upgrade facilities. The facilities for patrons were desperately in need of upgrade and a €1 million investment by Government has upgraded the stadium with absolute top-class facilities. The track itself is renowned for its racing surface but the facilities for the large numbers attending races there were in need of major upgrade and that has been done. I had the pleasure of attending Kilkenny greyhound track. I do not know if any of the other speakers have been at the track before but I had the pleasure of attending it last Friday night. It was absolutely top class. As we approach the 80th anniversary, I encourage all people in Carlow, Kilkenny and surrounding counties to come and visit Kilkenny greyhound track and see everything it has to offer.

I also take the opportunity here to acknowledge the significant contribution Gowran Park racecourse, led by its general manager Eddie Scally, makes to the local economy and community. It is one of Ireland's leading racecourses and it boasts Thyestes Day and Red Mills Day as two of its marquee events. I invite both Ministers - the Minister of State, Deputy Healy Rae, and the Minister, Deputy Heydon - to come down to Gowran Park and Kilkenny greyhound track. They will have an unbelievable experience. They will be met by the hospitality of the people there, the people from rural Ireland, whom I represent and who will welcome them with open arms. We have to invest in the greyhound industry and we have to invest in the horse racing industry. We have superstars like Rachael Blackmore and Willie Mullins. Are people really proposing not investing in these sectors which support 30,000 jobs? I will not sit in here and listen to lectures from people who do not have a clue about rural Ireland.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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And invite the Deputies to my right too.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I am glad to be able to speak today. I thank both Ministers for the funding for Horse Racing Ireland and the greyhound industry. It is money that is well spent on something embedded in the rural communities and urban communities. From listening to the debate, you would think that greyhound tracks were something awful. Greyhound tracks in Clonmel and Thurles host fund-raisers for many clubs, schools and other organisations; it is part of our fabric. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, for being so vociferous in supporting this. I also thank the Minister, Deputy Heydon.

We have great prowess in Tipperary with Coolmore, dozens of other flagship trainers and others in the equine industry. Horse Racing Ireland has provided funding for a state-of-the-art all-weather track at Limerick Junction with great connectivity there. There is one up in Dundalk and this is badly needed. I salute the hard-working and dedicated group driving this. It will bring business, economic and social activity, and enjoyment to many people in weather conditions when racing cannot go ahead on other tracks.

It is a pity that the people here who are trying to stop horse racing will never say a word about the sulky racing that is going on, destroying animals' legs on roads and animals dying on the road. They never talk about that. I introduced a Bill to get sulky racing off the roads. They ignored that and would not even support it.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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How much do we give to that?

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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They have a vindictive issue to try to stop jobs in rural Ireland and destroy families who look after their animals.

I do not ever support any cruelty to animals. I was reared with animals, so we understand that too well. The people who are here are all for abortion. They want abortion up to nine months, full gestation-----

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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That is not true.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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-----and they want to save the greyhounds and save the hares.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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That was an awful comment.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The coursing festival will start again in February in Clonmel and beidh fíorfháilte roimh na Teachtaí go léir. They will all be welcome to come to the coursing. There will be thousands from all over England, Northern Ireland and Ireland for a wonderful weekend and a huge investment in Clonmel.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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That was an outrageous statement.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, that was an outrageous thing for that Deputy to say and he should withdraw it.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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Will the Deputies sit down?

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Healy-Rae had his time.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am only starting.

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk here and support the Government's announcement of this money for the greyhound industry and the horse racing industry. We know what they mean to our county of Kerry. People with greyhounds are out in the morning, late in the evening, walking and exercising the dogs and exercising themselves, and they are a vital part of our community. We hear the Opposition, which was playing to the gallery last Wednesday night about all they would do for the farmers. These are all farmers and they are rural people trying to live the best way they can. We appreciate the level of money the horse racing industry brings to towns like Killarney, with four or five race meetings there. Then we have the big one in Listowel - the harvest festival - and a huge amount of people come from all over Ireland and spend their money in Listowel and the local towns because they cannot all stay in Listowel for the week. We have to be honest and appreciate the colour and the fashion that the ladies bring to places like the Listowel races and Killarney races-----

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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Wow.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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-----and where they spend fortunes to do themselves up and add glamour to our events. We appreciate that very much. We have local ladies from Kilgarvan who actually won the best dressed lady in Listowel, including Joanne Murphy.

We appreciate all of this because it means so much to rural Ireland. As for the people talking against it, I am sorry that they do not understand it. They should come down and see what is going on there, and walk the roads with the people who are walking the dogs because they are doing tremendous work. It is great for people's heads to get out on the road and walk in the fresh air. They love their dogs and appreciate them and they do nothing in the world wrong to them. They spend more on the dogs than they spend in their homes.

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I strongly support the horse and greyhound racing industry. We have, as has been mentioned, a couple of great meetings in Killarney on a number of occasions every year. There is the Listowel September meeting and, indeed, other dates in Listowel as well. This provides a massive contribution to the local economy in Kerry and creates employment and enjoyment. I was in Curraheen Park recently with some friends of mine, including the Clifford brothers, whose dog, Solo and Go, was just pipped on the line in the Irish Laurels final. The Laurels is, of course, named after the The Laurels hostelry in Killarney, which is a great pub and restaurant. We should be proud of what we have invested over the years in both industries and I believe we should continue to do so.

We have the best horse trainers, jockeys, greyhound owners and trainers, and supporters. There is no better place to go than a night at the dogs in Tralee. Equally, there is no better place to go than the September meeting in Listowel. A lot of people build a week's holidays around that particular week.

I wish to raise the issue of horse and pony association funding. It was stopped two years ago. It was getting €80,000. There are 26 meetings nationally. This is where all our great jockeys start off, the likes of Paul Townend, Ruby Walsh and Jack Kennedy. There are 26 meetings nationally and they should be helped out and provided for. We are providing big funding to the association and I believe €80,000 is a small amount of money in the overall funding context. We should be supporting it. It brings big crowds to these smaller areas, such as the Dingle races.

I ask the Minister to follow up on that.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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In the brief time I have left, I will try to make a summation of all the points that have been made and answer each one of them.

I thank colleagues for their comments. I regret some of the polarisation of the language in some of the contributions, which I thought was unnecessary. This is something people from both sides of the House have strong views on. We should all respect one another's views without getting to the level of name-calling, which was very regrettable.

I will start by addressing the amendment from Labour and express my disappointment with its content and premise. I wish to express my surprise that the signatories to it include Alan Kelly from Tipperary, George Lawlor from Wexford and Mark Wall from Kildare. Those are three counties that have a massive economic benefit from the thousands of jobs that are generated in the horse racing and greyhound racing industries. They put their names to a motion that talks about this as a sport. Deputy Smith is missing the point. This is an industry. I am the Minister for agriculture and I am taking this. There is a reason I have responsibility for horse racing and greyhound racing. It is because it is an industry. It is an economic activity. Some 80% of horses that are bred are bred by farmers who have four mares or less. This is economic activity that provides thousands of jobs in those three counties I mentioned and all over rural Ireland. That is the point. People talk about it as a sport and compare it to sports that get capital grants and other measures. This is an industry and that economic activity is why the Government supports this sector. It is the right thing to do from an economic perspective as well as it being a key part of social and rural pursuits.

Deputies Kenny and Newsome Drennan talked about the greyhound sector, their love for it and their experience of it in the past. To address Deputies Kenny and Whitmore regarding some of the statistics they talked about as regards care homes on the greyhound side, those figures do not take into account the greyhounds that were accommodated at one of the greyhound care centres that ended up being selected for rehoming. They numbered among the 587 greyhounds that were rehomed through the international rehoming partners of the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust. That is an important point to make.

Deputy Whitmore talked about a waste of money. In 2025, RCÉ allocated €5.6 million to regulatory care and welfare expenditure. Under the RCÉ's traceability system, RCÉTS, figures at the end of quarter 3 in 2025 indicate that 59,708 greyhounds were subject to traceability, which is a key point.

Deputies Whitmore, Coppinger and others made the point around these activities not having public support. Horse racing's total reported attendances, supplied by each race course to Horse Racing Ireland for 2024, amounted to 1.242 million people attending races in 2024, which was up from 1.236 million in 2023. The first six months of 2025 have shown a healthy rise in reported racecourse attendances. Total attendances for that period were 566,377 people, up 6.9% on the same period in 2024. So, it is incumbent on all of us in this House when we throw away comments like "this does not have public support"-----

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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The Minister did not give the figures for greyhounds.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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We are all entitled to our own views but let us not try to knock a very large amount of people in this country who are passionate about this activity and do care about it-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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But 70% of the public oppose greyhound racing.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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On the greyhound racing side in 2024, 358,141 people attended just short of 1,500 race meetings at 14 stadia.

The economic activity point has been made by a number of Deputies regarding the attendances at those stadia, the spin-off industry that happens in the bars and restaurants outside the racing activity, the best dressed ladies, the boutiques, the hairdressers, the men's clothes shops and all that activity. A number of years ago, the Punchestown racing festival was calculated to be worth over €60 million to the local economy. That was before the pandemic, so I can imagine it is a multiple of that now. I do not have the latest figures to hand, but that figure is from my local festival off memory.

I can imagine what Galway is worth. I know what Listowel is worth to Kerry and beyond, as Deputy Healy-Rae and others have outlined.

A point was made about race money. The spread of prize money for racing is something that is not fully understood. The HRI factbook 2024 showed that out of 390 fixtures, there were 8,022 individual runners and 27% of those horses won at least one race. Some 5,800 of the individual runners won prize money at some stage, which equates to around 73% of individual runners or 71% compared to 2023. Of around 2,900 individual races, over 2,400 had prize money of under €25,000, with 129 having prize money greater than €100,000. Some people stood up here and made reference to a class divide. I did not do that. The inference is that there is one. There are suggestions from Members of the House that this is an elitist activity, something I countenance greatly.

Deputy Gogarty, along with a number of others, spoke about there being no activity on the welfare piece. As a result of the "Prime Time Investigates" programme, we established the Professor Paddy Wall report in the Department. The publication of his report was combined with a 38-point action plan and a proposal, published in consultation with Professor Wall's report earlier this year. There were five key headings, which I will not go into because my time is up. The implementation of the Wall report is at an advanced stage.

Reference was made to the census and many different areas. There are key actions in this space. I do not have enough time to address every point directly but I will conclude by thanking people for their contributions. As I said in my opening address, sections 12 and 13 of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001 provides that a draft of the regulations be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and a resolution approving the draft be passed by each House. I again ask for the support of the House to ensure that Horse Racing Ireland and Rásaíocht Con Éireann receive the funding provided for in budget 2026. I commend the regulation to the House.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time this evening.