Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome my constituency colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes. He and I come from Tipperary, which is classed as the home of greyhounds. In the past I was unfortunate enough to co-own and to be a member of syndicates which owned some seriously bad dogs. I had the luxury of collecting winnings on perhaps only four occasions.

Dog owning and breeding are traditions which date back centuries. As a person who hails from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, I grew up in that tradition and I have a great interest in this matter. While I was unfortunate enough to own some bad dogs, my father bred a number of very bad animals. I wish to inform those in the Gallery that I share many of their concerns. The Minister of State's predecessor, the late Shane McEntee, had a great interest in the greyhound industry and brought forward legislation which improved the position with regard to the welfare of dogs. The Government has been in office since 2011. A great deal of what has already been said in this debate related to 2007. In one of his first actions since coming to office, the current Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, launched an investigation into a number of issues of concern. I am deputising for Senator O'Keeffe, to whom the various items of correspondence to which previous speakers referred were also sent. I read all of that correspondence last night. We are all concerned with regard to the matters to which the correspondence refers and that is why the investigation is taking place. The investigation will have to be thorough and it must deal with all of the allegations that have been made and all of the concerns that have been expressed.

We would be living in a fools paradise if we did not accept, as Senator Ó Clochartaigh rightly pointed out, that fewer people are visiting greyhound tracks such as those in Waterford, Clonmel and elsewhere is because the economy is on its knees. People who used to keep dogs at home or who bred animals from a couple of bitches no longer have the money to do so. In addition, others do not have the money to buy pups. In the context of the export market to England, a friend of mine used to make full-time living from whelping litters of pups from a number of bitches. Some 90% of his dogs came from England. The English economy is on its knees and a previous speaker referred to the efforts being made to keep the greyhound track at Wimbledon open.

The problems relating to the industry are not specific to it. They also relate to the economy which the Government inherited in 2011 and which was on its knees at that time. The economy is slowly picking up and I am sure the greyhound industry will do likewise. There will always be greyhounds and greyhound racing in Ireland. However, we must place this matter in the context of the position in which the nation finds itself at present. With respect, there are issues which must be investigated. What happened in respect of the track in Limerick must be clearly spelled out. There is no doubt that the tote is down. I am very good friends with a bookie from Limerick whom I will not name but who specialises in horse racing. He informs me that those who previously bet €100 now only bet €20 and that those who used to bet €20 now only bet €5. That is why the tote is down. It is unfair to try to make it appear as if there is a conspiracy afoot here.

The Minister of State has been charged with investigating the industry, Bord na gCon and the various allegations and assertions that have been made. We want there to be a thorough investigation of the industry and we want the 30 or so issues raised by the Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation to be examined individually. I put my trust in the Minister of State to see to it that such an investigation takes place as soon as possible. I ask him to comment on the current position in respect of this matter when replying to the debate.