Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On greyhounds that are banned in another jurisdiction, section 21(1) states: "The Board may, after consultation with the Minister, make regulations for the use, management and control of greyhound race tracks". Under section 21(2)(n), it provides that it may prohibit "the entry to a greyhound race in the State of a greyhound the subject of a sanction of a foreign greyhound racing jurisdiction". That provision is fine and correct but a full stop should follow the word "jurisdiction". Instead, the paragraph continues: "or where agreement has been reached with the other greyhound racing jurisdiction". Let us say a greyhound that raced in England is found to have been banned because illegal substances had been administered. Under this provision, the board has the discretion to allow such a dog to race here. That is wrong and I ask the Minister of State to reflect on section 21(2)(n) and insert a full stop after the first instance of the words "racing jurisdiction". Any dog banned for illegal substance abuse in another jurisdiction should be banned here until such time as the process has been concluded. There should be no grey area around the use of drugs in the industry, particularly class A drugs. This is one of the recurring themes that emerges from greyhound owners and breeders. They are the ordinary people in the industry, not those who sit on the board or those who benefit from the financial rewards generated by the greyhound fund. Ordinary punters have serious concerns about this issue. There should be no misconception or grey area. It should be spelled out in black and white, which means we should abide by the outcome of any drug test done in another jurisdiction until such time as the process has concluded. If a dog is found to have a class A drug such as cocaine in its system after, let us say, a race in Manchester on a Saturday night, under no circumstances should it be allowed to race in Clonmel the following Tuesday. That would be wrong and there should be no grey area around doping.