Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is welcome. I have spoken on this issue before. I will specifically talk about the greyhound industry. To be fair to Senator Daly, he has acknowledged this is a difficult issue for me and a difficulty with being in government. There are certain things we did not get in the programme for Government. We as a party are not supportive of the greyhound industry. It is in our manifesto that we believe in the phasing out of public funding. There are serious question marks over how the dogs are treated, apart from the aspect of whether it should be funded. The fact we are the only party in this Chamber that has that as a core policy area should be pointed out. Others may talk about the issues of the dog racing industry, but very few are vocal about the fact they support the greyhound industry fundamentally. That is what parliamentary questions show for the Dáil. We are the only party in this Chamber that does not support it but we are in government. We abide by our programme for Government commitments and we got a huge amount in there on animal welfare. It is the programme for Government that has the most in relation to animal welfare anywhere ever. I recognise the Minister's work in that area.

The programme for Government says the future funding of the greyhound industry is contingent on a guarantee of welfare standards being upheld. The fact that traceability is being questioned even by Government colleagues shows there are question marks over that which have to be addressed. I ask the Minister to take that on board very seriously. I have been contacted by those in animal welfare circles who are concerned that the traceability system only kicks in when dogs turn 12 to 14 months. There are question marks over dogs that cannot race and were born never being able to race. Where is the traceability for those animals?

Given where we are and the question marks over traceability, it is a good time to talk about whether these industries should be decoupled. There are many question marks, which is not good to see. There are question marks over the gambling industry and how these two interact. I do not agree with Senator Lombard that this is a fundamental industry for rural Ireland, coming as I do from Galway. Claims are made that there are 5,000 jobs in the greyhound industry, but there are others saying there are 125 jobs with 700 casual jobs. The latter makes a lot more sense. The industry is not with us all the time. Many of those I know do it after college in the evening because it does not go on throughout the day. That is in Galway.

I think there would be significant public support for decoupling. It is a challenge for us if we want to support the equine industry but the two are brought together. It does not allow us to ensure traceability is happening because all the time we are almost blackmailed into it. We have to do it because of the equine industry and the two are lumped together. Only 16% said in a survey they agreed with this industry being funded by the State. It is a win-win all round and would ensure greater traceability if there was more accountability.