Camillus Glynn (Fianna Fail)

I ask the Leader, and Senator O'Brien, our spokesperson on rural development, to have a debate on this very important subject as soon as possible. I thank Senator O'Toole for his very kind support on the issue I raised yesterday pertaining to Kilbeggan racetrack. While it might be the preserve of the Turf Club to grant or refuse a licence, it has thrown out the baby with the bath-water. There is no cognisance whatsoever given to such situations in rural Ireland. The infrastructure is being taken away. The racetrack is all that Kilbeggan has, apart from Locke's Distillery, which is a help, but in terms of the local economy, the existence and operation of the racecourse is paramount to Kilbeggan and to mid-Westmeath as a whole. We all know what the paragon of virtue in relation to planning, namely An Taisce, is doing to rural Ireland. The sooner we have this debate, the better.