John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

The idea behind the review is that we engage positively with stakeholders who include those who are involved with the breeding establishments, the Irish Greyhound Board and, most importantly, the welfare organisations. It is the firm view of the welfare organisations that tattooing for traceability purposes is not the best or the cheapest way. I will be very anxious to establish after implementation for one year whether there is a case to be made for microchipping. I accept there are people who are far more expert in these matters and defer to them, but they have clearly said to me that microchips are used in Australia for tracing greyhounds, as well as in the United Kingdom, that this does not impair performance or cause cancer, as has been claimed, and that it is cheaper.