Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the Minister to the House. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my personal sympathies and those of my party on the death of his father over the weekend.

The Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Act was introduced by Fianna Fáil in 2001. While I welcome the Bill and will support it, the amount of money being invested in both industries could be increased. I ask that we return, in some way, to the model which was introduced, whereby the fund provided annually was based on the off-course betting income levy of the previous year. Due to the fact that the levy decreased during the economic crisis, there is a net cost to the Exchequer over and above the betting intake. I ask the Minister and his colleagues in the Department of Finance to address gambling legislation, in particular the potential income from online offshore gambling. If and when that is done, the Minister should bear in mind that activity takes place online. We could bridge the gap and increase the money being paid to Horse Racing Ireland and Bord na gCon.

In so doing, the Minister would have to be cognisant of pitch and independent high street bookmakers who are, to coin a phrase, a dying race. Those of us who attend race meetings know that pitch bookmakers and the betting ring are an integral part of the experience. They are in competition with the online sector, and it is possible that they will not survive. While I seek an increase in the intake on the batting side, I would be fearful for their future. In examining that, I would like the Minister to come up with a device to incentivise that sector of the betting industry. We need to try to bridge the gap and eliminate the net cost to the Exchequer arising from the difference between online betting income and the horse racing and greyhound fund.

Some people have queried why we would allocate a significant amount of money to a sport. As the Minister rightly said, it is a thriving industry and one which is predominantly based in rural Ireland. The horse racing and greyhound sectors between them have created in the region of 25,000 jobs. The combined direct and indirect income from the industry, including tourism and attendance at race and greyhound meetings, is €2.34 billion. As the saying goes, one has to speculate to accumulate. It is a very worthwhile investment from the point of view of the Exchequer, given that the return is €2.34 billion.

We congratulate ourselves on and gloat, to an extent, about our enormous international success. I take this opportunity to congratulate Aidan and Joseph O'Brien and Willie Mullins on their recent success in the Melbourne Cup. There are people in the sector who reach that peak. However, this fund keeps those at the bottom of the pyramid going. Without a conveyor from small two, three and four brood mare breeding outfits and small training yards with a small number of horse, smaller racetracks such as Kilbeggan, in which I am involved, would not survive. I have no doubt that a Senator on the other side will take the opportunity to mention Ballinrobe in her contribution. Provincial race tracks and small breeding outfits depend on the fund the most. Without their survival, we would not have a conveyor of horses coming through and young jockeys, who dream of and hope to reach the top of the spire, would not be trained. It is a very worthwhile investment in an industry which is an integral part of our make up.

As I said at the outset, I would like the fund to be increased, which can be done at no extra cost to the Exchequer.We are all fearful and wary of Brexit because we have no idea what way it is going to go. There is every possibility that this industry is going to need more funding just to sustain itself, not to mention improving. As the saying goes, the day one stands still is the day one starts going backwards. We do not know what Brexit will bring. This is an all-island industry and its other main source of income is the sale of media rights which is done in sterling. The industry may need extra funding just to survive and we must be cognisant of that fact.

The Minister mentioned the greyhound industry Bill and I would urge him to get it approved by Cabinet and into motion as soon as possible. We are all very aware of the political circumstances in which we found ourselves last weekend. While the aforementioned Bill may not have been a priority for many in terms of what would be thrown out with the bath water, it is legislation that would have ended up on a shelf for God knows how many more months. I would urge the Minister to get that Bill through Cabinet and before the Houses as soon as possible because it is a very necessary instrument for the greyhound industry going forward, particularly in terms of improving and enhancing governance, administration and animal welfare.

In conclusion, Indecon produced a report on harness racing and a request has been made for seed funding. I would like the Minister to address that matter. I would also ask for additional funding for that going forward. Contrary to everything I have said to date, I would not like to see the Minister divide the existing funding three ways. Several issues came up during the debate which were unrelated to the Bill but which require the Minister's attention including employment law and rate valuation. While we are funding an industry here, there are other arms of the State trying to take money back from it and to disimprove conditions within it. The Minister will probably not be able to comment because of WRC issues and so forth but I would like him to keep an eye on where the line is drawn in terms of when a farming activity stops becoming a farming activity in the context of rates and employment law.