Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am, unfortunately, going to have to oppose the motion. My concerns relate to greyhound racing. The Minister will be aware that I aired those concerns when the greyhound legislation went through the previous Oireachtas. That was an opportunity for a root-and-branch overhaul of the industry and I regret that it was not fully taken. It is regrettable, for example, that the amendments we tabled to limit the exports of greyhounds and to provide for the proper tracing of the export of greyhounds were not taken at that time. The traceability issues, which have been highlighted, still remain.

I am proud of the fact that Senator Ruane and I won two important amendments in respect of that legislation. One was an amendment relating to the rehoming of greyhounds. When we hear a lot of talk from GRI, let us bear in mind that it was forced to bring forward initiatives in respect of rehoming dogs because of the changes made in that legislation. Rehoming is one thing, but the curtailment of excessive breeding and the proper tracing of puppies from birth, not just from the age of 12 months, are also still concerns. We are aware of the number of deaths of dogs that have taken place because the standards that are set are not met.Dogs should never be treated as a crop. There are concerns about the lack of traceability or proper measures around exports and welfare.

Another amendment we won was adding a vet to the greyhound board yet we see vets are still not present at those meetings or trials. We hear about employment but there is ambiguity around where it is if vets are not attending meetings. It is not there in the welfare of greyhounds which takes only 10% of the proposed €17.6 million going to Greyhound Racing Ireland. The contrast is notable compared with the €1.5 million to animal welfare organisations of every kind across the country. I have no doubt that were we to invest even €5 million or €10 million of what we put into greyhounds into animal welfare organisations, that would generate employment and be a contribution and something of value to Irish society.

Greyhound racing is a sport which needs reform and ultimately needs to be ended. This is an exit process that needs to be looked at. Only 16% of respondents in a RedC poll felt the State should be funding this industry. The tracks have lost €30 million since 2019. Attendance fell by 55% between 2008 and 2018, previous to Covid. I am sure the State has also been supplementing income through schemes such as the PUP. Who is the State funding and supporting? Ultimately, through this we are funding the gambling industry. We have heard the figures on problem gambling of 40,000. To put this into perspective, Flutter Entertainment, of which Paddy Power is part, trebled its profits in the first six months of this year. It does not need our support for prize money.