Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

On the points outlined by Senators Daly and Davitt in terms of disappointment that the fund is static compared with last year, this was a very constrained budget.I have 13 different semi-State bodies under my remit in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Bord Bia, Teagasc, and the horse and greyhound fund have all seen significant increases year on year in recent times, but given the constrained nature of this budget, I did not have the ability to raise the budgets for those semi-State organisations. I did so for the Agri-Food Regulator because that is a new, fledgling operation and it is right that it gets additional resources. I was determined that this budget would not be reduced, but I recognise the points made by Senators Daly and Davitt about the disappointment that it was not increased. As I said in regard to all areas of agriculture, this is my first year of what I hope will be five years of budgets. I will be judged at the end as to how I have been able to support this sector and the vital jobs it provides in rural Ireland.

I acknowledge the points that Senator Daly made about Kilbeggan racetrack. He spoke about the investment it has made in rubber mats, cameras and all of the other elements related to welfare, integrity and beyond that do not qualify for sports capital funding. The capital fund from the horse and greyhound fund is the only mechanism for racetracks like that. I have been at Kilbeggan on a number of occasions as well as places like Ballinrobe. I have seen those smaller tracks and how they are utilising those capital funds. They are generating a massive boost for their local economy with the relatively small amounts that are being invested in those capital projects. That is what I want to see continuing.

On welfare, sheep worrying and so on, as Senator Higgins outlined, yesterday I launched a public consultation on the new animal welfare strategy that will be finalised next year. She is right that owners have a key responsibility in animal welfare. That is always the case, whether they are farmers or pet owners and whether it is for leisure activities, greyhounds and beyond. People should pay attention to where their dogs are and whether they are worrying sheep and so forth. Everything we do around animal welfare needs to reflect the responsibility of owners.

Senator Daly also outlined the economic benefits for his locality in the midlands, particularly in Westmeath.

Senator Andrews used strong words with regard to accountability and integrity of RCE. I want to clarify some of the points that were made about rehoming by Senators Stephenson and Higgins. I also want to deal with the issue of artificial insemination of greyhounds, which was raised by Senators Andrews, Higgins and Davitt in particular. My Department held a public consultation on this practice. As has been outlined, this is not a common or widespread practice. I made inquiries about this when I came into this role and I understand it has been discussed here previously. That public consultation is very important and the results will be published very shortly. Those results are going to feed into a legislative process. I hear the concerns that are being raised and I assure Senators that they will see a legislative process around that element. I want to reassure Members-----