Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

And the Senator has raised the issue.

Unfairly, I have got a bit of stick about the advisory group on horse racing. No one on that committee is paid anything, be it expenses for mileage or so on. Its members are entirely voluntary and we meet every second month or so. I put the advisory group in place because horse racing was one of the areas in my portfolio about which I was not comfortable I had detailed knowledge. I am comfortable in most of the other areas and am becoming more knowledgeable on horse racing, but I felt the need to put in place a group of people I trusted who understood and were stakeholders in the industry. I take advice from them and they supply it when I ask for it. That is all they do. It is a good group and I thank the key people for being on it. They are great and are committed to their sector.

I probably know a great deal more about sports horses. I often clean out stables on a Sunday afternoon when my wife is out on her horse or my daughter is out on her pony. The sports horse industry is very valuable and is worth approximately €700 million to the economy each year. Unlike racing, and unfortunately from my perspective, my Department does not have primary responsibility for it. Rather, sports horses are covered by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. It would be helpful if the responsibility for sports horses was in the same Department as the responsibility for race horses, but this matter must be worked out within Government.