Seanad debates

Thursday, 14 July 2022

9:30 am

Photo of Lynn BoylanLynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not like greyhound racing. I have been very honest about that with the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and with the greyhound industry when its representatives have come before the committee. Nonetheless - and this is a little like what Senator Pauline O'Reilly said about live exports - we can certainly tighten up the regulation. We need vets at every trial, regardless of whether it is an unofficial or official trial. That has to be standard. It is the law in Britain; it should be the minimum here. I was really disappointed that the Minister, when I put this to him at a meeting of the joint committee, basically stated that it is like the difference between playing for your county and playing for your parish in that you will have better facilities and physio when you play for your county. I am sorry, but greyhounds do not have a choice in racing. The bare minimum they should have is vets any time they run on a course. Another issue is that surgical artificial insemination is rampant in the greyhound industry. Again, it is banned in Britain. I call on the Veterinary Council of Ireland to call for a ban on that. Then there is the overbreeding of greyhounds. We need a cap on the number of greyhounds bred - that is the reality - because they are being overbred and going missing in their thousands, and those that do not make the cut in Ireland are then sold below cost and sent to Britain, with us, the taxpayer, funding all that.

I call on the Minister of State to consider the position in respect of rodenticide and metaldehyde. I had the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, before this House on this issue and he has been really supportive. We need a ban on metaldehyde for domestic use. One should not be able to buy slug pullets in discount stores. Whatever about agriculture and working with farmers to phase out the use of metaldehyde, nobody should be able to walk into a shop and buy slug pellets because they have a devastating impact not only on pets but also on wildlife. Then there is rodenticide and the impact it is having on raptors. It should not be available to the general public.

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