Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for being in the Seanad. I welcome the fact that we have been given the opportunity to debate the motion, an opportunity unfortunately denied to our colleagues in the Dáil. I imagine that the denial of such an opportunity was the impetus for the motion on the greyhound racing industry brought before the Dáil this morning by Deputy Cairns and the Social Democrats, an extremely important and worthwhile initiative that I wholeheartedly support. The motion before us is straightforward. It authorises almost €1.5 billion to the horse and greyhound racing fund under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001. What has not been provided to us in any real way, however, is an adequate justification from the Government for forcing the decision to continue to provide such substantial State financial support to a loss-making industry with a long structural record of cruelty to animals and to increase that allocation to the industry by over €2.5 million compared with 2019.

We have all seen and spoken about the "RTÉ Investigates" documentary from last year which detailed the truly appalling and unspeakable acts of violence committed against animals as part of this industry. It is an industry that kills over 6,000 dogs a year simply for not running fast enough. I cannot comprehend how an industry that has been proved so conclusively to be using such widespread cruel practices would be rewarded with increased funding. It is just unfathomable. If the RTÉ programme has not been deemed sufficient grounds for radical reform, I wonder what it would take. What additional cruelty would have to be revealed before the Government would consider reviewing State funding to such an industry? This is an industry that received over six times more State money than the total State funding allocated to animal welfare organisations combined. If the level of abuse and mistreatment revealed on the "RTÉ Investigates" programme does not give pause for pursuing a State policy of continuing and increasing funding to the greyhound industry, what would it take? Even if we set aside the decision to increase funding and only consider the extraordinary level of State support given to the industry, I am strongly of the view that public funds have to be used in a way that promotes the public good. What public good is served in this case?

In Fergus Finlay's article in the Irish Examineryesterday, he states that the average attendance at a race meeting in one year was 288 people per race. This comes after a decade of sharp declines in attendance that leaves Ireland as only one of a handful of countries in the world that allows dog racing. This industry is failing and we are choosing to prop it up, and for what purpose?

I recognise that the industry employs many people across the country, particularly in rural Ireland, the vast majority of whom likely have a great love and affection for animals. However, the revelations over recent years show that the fundamental structure of the industry is ultimately built on exploitation of, and cruelty towards, the animals at its very centre. We would fully be able to gradually unwind State support for the overall industry while also providing alternative employment and educational opportunities for the industry's workers, much as has been done for those affected by the Bord na Móna closures. This would be doable if the political will were there and if the Government was willing to act. In the previous Oireachtas we passed the Greyhound Racing Act 2019. The Seanad played a leading role in strengthening and improving that legislation, and improving the provisions relating to dog welfare. We proposed a ban on the export of greyhounds to countries with terrible welfare records and this was rejected by the Government. I urge the Government to use the opportunity provided by this new national debate to reconsider such a ban, easily justifiable under EU trade law through the Article 36 exemptions to unitary trade action by a member state explicitly on animal welfare grounds.