Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like my colleague Senator Daly, I would like to begin by offering my heartfelt condolences to the Minister on the death of his father, Donal Creed, who I understand served as a Member of Dáil Éireann for 22 years. Former Deputy Creed passed away last week and his funeral took place on Monday. It is remarkable that the Minister is here, serving his country in the Houses of the Oireachtas this week. I ask him to accept my deepest sympathies at this time.

The motion before us this evening refers to the horse and greyhound racing fund which is an important source of revenue for the horse racing industry and the greyhound sector. The horse racing industry is crucially important to the economic output of the Irish economy and to our international footprint. The sector has been transformed through legislation brought before the Oireachtas in recent years to develop the industry. The achievements are quite remarkable and the value for money derived from the investment in the horse racing sector is unquestionable. Sadly, however, at the other end of the spectrum, the greyhound sector leaves a lot to be desired. I had the pleasure this afternoon of meeting the new CEO of the Irish Greyhound Board, Mr. Gerard Dollard, who is a gentleman and I wish him well. I hope he will listen to the grassroots and that the sector can move forward. There are critical issues within the sector that deserve attention, not least the issues of standalone funding and transparency and accountability in terms of how the money is being spent.

Approximately €16 million of the horse and greyhound racing fund will go to the greyhound sector next year. That amounts to just over €300,000 per week to the Irish Greyhound Board. Irrespective of the amount of money involved, crucial questions from ordinary greyhound breeders and owners remain unanswered. I have confidence however, following my meeting with him this afternoon, that the new CEO is willing to engage and to listen, which I very much welcome. The greyhound industry has the potential to be a standalone sector, even without this subvention from the Government although I am not suggesting for one moment that the subvention should not be provided. The industry will struggle to reach its full potential, however, given what is happening at the moment. We have 16 stadia, some of which are in the process of being taken over by the banks, including one in Lifford in County Donegal. Of the 16 stadia, eight are owned by the Irish Greyhound Board and the remainder are privately owned. There is a real need to improve the corporate governance of Irish Greyhound Board by improving transparency, communications and accountability in order to realise the full potential of the sector. One of the ways of doing that is through the greyhound industry Bill, which is due to come before these Houses shortly. I would appeal to the Minister in the strongest possible terms to bring that Bill before these Houses as quickly as possible. I have not read the Bill yet and will reserve judgment on it. If I feel the need, I will certainly propose amendments to it but it can provide the roadmap for transforming the industry and breathing fresh air into it.

The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Andrew Doyle did an excellent job when he was Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I served on that committee which met all of the interested stakeholders within the greyhound sector. The committee published a report containing 16 different recommendations and I hope those recommendations will be provided for in the aforementioned Bill.

There are very serious issues around drugs within the greyhound sector. One of the greyhound trainers who was fined after a dog tested positive for a prohibited substance earlier this year was awarded the Greyhound review's personality of the year recently. I do not think that sends out the right message in the context of either transparency or integrity. Given that all of this is happening and given that so much of the funding goes directly to the organisation, there is an urgent need to review what is going on. I could cite many examples in the House this evening of concerns with regard to artificial insemination and illegal dogs continuing to run at various meetings all over the country. These issues must be addressed.