Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is perfect. I would love to have more time to speak on this but I will get straight to the point. I fully support this motion and I thank the Minister for his input and support to the sector. The horse and greyhound industries are a huge sector where I am from in Tipperary. I thank the Minister for his work in supporting Clonmel greyhound track and securing its future for the next number of years.

Horse racing creates 10,000 jobs directly and loads more indirectly. It contributes about €1 billion in generated funding. Jim Power did a report on the greyhound industry. It makes a net contribution of €132 million and 4,150 people working full time or part time in the industry. These are people who love animals and love what they do. It is important that we continue to support them.

Colleagues including Councillors Eileen Lynch and David McManus do their very best to support the industry too. I want to acknowledge their work. I will give an insight into what this industry can do and how it can change lives and encourage people. Just this week Rachael Blackmore was nominated for the BBC world sports star award. It is the first time since the 1960s that the racing industry was nominated for this award. The last time was a jockey from Australia, George Moore. She is up against Tom Brady who won the Super Bowl last year, Max Verstappen, the Formula 1 driver, and Novak Djokovic. She will win it, in my view, because of her contribution to the racing industry over the last year both on the horse and, most importantly, off the horse as an individual and an inspiration to people right across the country here, and particularly women. We in Tipperary are hugely proud of the contribution she makes for herself, the county and for the racing industry as a whole.