Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

The response of my colleague, Senator Coffey, was comprehensive and strong. The arguments the Minister of State made in defence of the Minister's position and thinking have been undermined comprehensively by Senator Coffey. The 1958 legislation, which has been referred to, can, if deemed insufficient, be amended to deal with any doubts, fears or queries which the Minister of State's office may have in regard to the greyhound industry.

The most significant comment made by Senator Coffey, with which I fully concur, is that a number of sections of the Bill are distracting from what should be at its core and what should unite us all rather than divide us, namely, dealing with the puppy farm issue. The Title of the Bill, the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill, should be changed if we cannot make progress on these amendments because it is no longer just the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill. It is quite clearly a thinly veiled attack on the greyhound industry. We have seen this with other sections on hunt clubs, rural pursuits and rural sports.

I appreciate the way Government works and that the Minister of State is simply reading the thoughts of the Minister into the record. I do not believe what the Minster of State read is his own thinking. Clearly, he is not being given any discretion on the matter. It is disappointing that he is not at least in a position to say he will think further about our proposals before Report Stage. Much of the time of the House is taken up with futile divisions, the outcome of which we know in advance. The Minister of State has an opportunity to display a modicum of flexibility and common sense by indicating that he will cause his senior Minister, Deputy Gormley, to reflect on this matter.

At a time when the country has grave economic problems and citizens expect the House to discuss the economy, unemployment and the housing and banking crises, it is disappointing that we are obliged to spend days discussing this legislation as a result of the inflexibility of the Minister. He and a small group of people are attempting to use this legislation to lash out at aspects of rural life, including rural sports, with which they are uncomfortable. If he wants to shut down hunting, let him introduce legislation and debate its merits with us. If he wants to close down the greyhound industry, let him say so and set out his ideas because I am sure they will be roundly rejected by the Oireachtas and members of the public. The Minister is using the legislation as a Trojan horse, a phrase I believe I patented on Second Stage.

The Minister of State should show some initiative and indicate that he will relay to the Minister in advance of Report Stage the views of Senators, including those from the Fianna Fáil Party. It would be ludicrous if, as a result of meanderings in the background, the Bill were fundamentally changed in the Dáil. This debate was initiated in the Seanad which is devoting hours and days to discussing it. The Minister should, therefore, set out his final thinking on the matter in this Chamber.

I ask the Minister of State to be a little more forthcoming, independent and original in responding to the comments made in reply to his initial intervention. The statement he read could have been compressed into two lines, namely, that the Minister does not propose to change his mind and does not respect or accept the bona fides of the Irish Coursing Club or greyhound industry.

Senator Coffey outlined the legislative background to the regulations governing the greyhound industry. That the industry has become so strong and developed into such an international success story providing significant employment must surely indicate it is doing something correctly. The Bill will blow apart its good work. I ask the Minister of State to reflect further on the position he has adopted and provide some hope that progress can be made and decisions reviewed.

The decision to hold a review in 12 months is a kick to touch of Ronan O'Gara proportions. We want something more immediate. Will the Minister of State offer us something better on Report Stage?