Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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The Minister and his officials are very welcome.

Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I move:

That Seanad Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2025, copies of which were laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 16th October, 2025.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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It is great to have an opportunity in the Seanad to discuss a really important issue. As Senators are no doubt aware, the horse and greyhound industries are an important part of Ireland's economic and cultural heritage. Both sectors help promote balanced economic growth across Ireland, as they provide significant economic and social benefit to rural communities. Their importance has been acknowledged by successive Governments, and they are supported through legislation and policy initiatives.

Exchequer funding provided from the horse and greyhound racing fund plays a crucial role in supporting their continued development. This funding, in addition to supporting these key industries, also presents an excellent opportunity for a strong return on investment. The horse and greyhound racing industries receive financial support from the State through the horse and greyhound racing fund, under section 12 of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001. Payments are made from the fund to Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, and to Rásaíocht Con Éireann, RCÉ. Since 2001, a total of €1.8 billion has been paid from the fund to the horse and greyhound racing industries in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

The cumulative upper limit on payments from the fund, provided for under the relevant regulations, has been reached. To give effect to the provisions of budget 2026, this cumulative upper limit must be increased by regulation. The Estimates for my Department, passed by both Houses as part of budget 2026, include an allocation of €99.1 million for the horse and greyhound racing fund. This will be distributed in accordance with section 12(6) of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001, with 80%, or €79.3 million, going to HRI, and 20%, equating to €19.8 million, to RCÉ. To allow my Department to provide the moneys allocated in budget 2026, it is necessary to comply with the technical requirement under section 12(13) of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, to increase the cumulative limit on the amount payable from the horse and greyhound racing fund by €99.1 million, to some €1.9 billion.This will be achieved by way of the regulations submitted to the House today.

I will now focus a little on each industry, starting with the horse racing sector. The horse racing industry has its roots right across rural Ireland. According to the 2023 Deloitte report on the social and economic impact of Irish thoroughbred breeding and racing, it is estimated that the Irish thoroughbred industry has an annual economic impact of €2.46 billion. This represents a 34% increase from the previous occasion, 2016, on which such an analysis was carried out. The sector also supports approximately 30,000 direct and indirect jobs, the majority of which are based in rural Ireland. The sector has an extraordinary reputation for breeding and racing. Government funding has been a key driver in retaining this status over many years. The Irish racing and breeding industry has been shown to attract in excess of €550 million in foreign direct investment each year.

Irish-trained horses continue to perform exceptionally at international events, including in the UK, France and the USA. Recently, Irish trainers and horses enjoyed remarkable success at the Breeders' Cup in the USA. Aidan O'Brien made history with his 21st Breeders' Cup victory, while his son Donnacha celebrated his first win at the meeting. Willie Mullins also delivered a stunning victory with Ethical Diamond in the grade 1 Breeders' Cup turf, underscoring Ireland's world-class racing excellence. These results once again highlighted Ireland's world-class breeding, training and racing talent on one of the sport's premier weekends.

This success cannot be taken for granted. The welfare of people and animals remains a key priority, as outlined in HRI's current strategic plan. HRI is committed to maintaining the highest standards of care and welfare both on and away from the racetrack. This includes providing supports for organisations, including the Irish Horse Racing Regulatory Board, IHRB, to ensure the health and welfare of all horses. My Department will continue to back both HRI and the IHRB in these efforts.

In the context of the greyhound racing sector, the 2021 Power report highlighted that the industry provides and supports considerable employment across the Irish economy. In 2019, it was estimated to have supported more than 4,000 direct and indirect jobs. The sector's foundation is built on more than 6,000 active greyhound owners. As a long-standing tradition, the greyhound racing industry supports significant economic activity nationwide. Funding for this sector is especially vital for rural Ireland. The industry's future relies on a strong governance platform and on upholding the highest standards of integrity and welfare, supported by a robust regulatory system. Government support is directly contingent on RCÉ guaranteeing annually that these welfare standards are strictly upheld, aligning with the programme for Government commitment to improved animal welfare and traceability. RCÉ remains fully committed to upholding the highest standards of greyhound welfare and integrity. It continues to operate an ever-expanding care and welfare programme, utilising income from the horse and greyhound racing fund for the implementation of the highest possible welfare standards at kennels and racing facilities throughout the country and for rehoming activities.

The ongoing welfare and integrity initiatives operated by the industry are pivotal. The work of RCÉ underscores this commitment, particularly as it conducted almost 2,500 inspections in the past year, the second-highest annual figure on record. I am pleased to report that the industry maintains a zero-tolerance approach to any breaches, demonstrating its commitment to the highest standards. RCÉ is fully committed to developing, managing and promoting a successful and commercially sustainable greyhound racing industry. This industry will offer a high-quality, consumer-focused entertainment product that meets the highest possible international regulatory and welfare standards. It will continue to be proactively governed by my Department.

The programme for Government contains a commitment to supporting rural communities, and these industries continue to contribute to rural economic activity and employment. These two industries are contributors to balanced regional economic growth and both continue to provide a range of benefits for many rural locations. These benefits must not be overlooked. The horse and greyhound racing fund has played a key role in providing this investment and it has been instrumental in the shaping of these industries and the many livelihoods they support.

Following a request from the Committee of Public Accounts, my Department commissioned an external review of the governance of the fund and the bodies in receipt of moneys from it in the context of the current legislative and policy framework. This review has been completed, and a copy of the final report was sent to the committee last week. One of the report's key recommendations is to increase the share of the fund ring-fenced for welfare purposes over the medium term. I assure the House that my Department will work with the bodies to implement this and other recommendations contained in the report in the coming months. Accordingly, I am seeking Senators' support to ensure that HRI and RCÉ receive the funding provided for in budget 2026 and that the important role played by these industries and the economic activity they generate will be sustained into the future.

I commend this regulation to the House. I look forward to listening to the views of Members.

Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)
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The Minister is once again welcome to the House for this debate on funding for horse and greyhound racing. As he rightly stated, both sectors are an important part of the economies, culture and heritage of our rural communities. We have all seen what horse racing has done for rural Ireland. In the town of Roscommon, for example, when a race meeting takes place, the activity it brings has an economic effect not only locally but through the wider county. People get dressed up, schools have reunions, there are hen and stag parties and people visit. It is a social event, but there is also, as the Minister stated, a knock-on effect in terms of support for the industry. Without support, you would be in danger of losing the economic benefits to the area.

I, too, visit racecourses and I attend the greyhound racing in Mullingar. Unfortunately, our greyhound track in Longford closed. We have seen the detrimental effect that had on the local economy. Visitors came to our town from far and wide and there was a significant economic benefit to the people locally and to shops and pubs. Unfortunately, when the track closed, the people of Longford experienced the economic effect it had. It is only when it was gone that they really and truly missed it.

I have a couple of statistics regarding greyhound racing. During the first half of this year, 692 fixtures were hale. Some 7,201 races were run at these events. There were 42,628 total entries. Total prize money was €4.356 million. Some 5,729 greyhounds out of a total of almost 7,000 that raced received prize money. The number of active owners was 3,737. There were 295 trainers involved. The number of new owners, which is critical, in the first six months of this year was 526. These are new owners who have made an investment in the greyhound industry. Total attendance at the greyhound tracks in the first six months of the year was almost 157,000. The number of people employed was 539. We can see the number of people employed and the economic benefits involved. Samples taken to assess welfare issues in the industry totalled 3,827. This shows that the Department has stringent rules already regarding the industry and samples taken. The number of passed samples, which is important, was 99.33%. Less than 1% were found to have failed the standards. There are standards in place for both the horse racing industry and greyhound industry.

As the Minister indicated, funding has to be put in place to support the horse racing industry. We have seen what Willie Mullins did in the Breeders' Cup. We have seen what our thoroughbreds are fit to do when they go to Australia and elsewhere. The passion for an Irish horse to go abroad and win some of these events just shows how strong the industry is here. The positive effect that has on the Exchequer amounts to €550 million foreign direct investment in Ireland each year. That is huge in the context of this sector.

The races at Punchestown and Listowel are the big meetings, but the small meetings are also significant. I welcome the Minister's announcement last week regarding the all-weather track.Everybody knows the only all-weather track we had up to that point was in Dundalk. It was difficult for people in the south of the country to travel the whole way to Dundalk for racing on an all-weather track. The Minister's investment in that part of the country - let us hope we see more investment in all-weather tracks - will alleviate the dangers of running on wetter ground. Everybody knows the safety aspect of all-weather tracks.

I will support the funding here today and I hope all my colleagues will also because it is an industry that is very important to our economy and to keeping our rural villages, towns and areas alive. After losing the one in Longford, I know first hand what it means not to have a track in our area.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the late Robbie Mulleady in County Longford. He had a dog called Coolamber Tank when I was growing up. We used to visit the tracks in Mullingar, Longford and Shelbourne. The first time I ever won money was on that dog, Coolamber Tank. Robbie used to always arrive and would say to my father, Lord have mercy on him, that he did not think the dog had a hope that day. Robbie would always give me a fiver and tell me to put it on his dog. Funnily enough, Robbie's dog always came in when he told you to put something on it. It was a great time, and it still is a great time and evening out.

I hope that people continue to support the industry, not only the horse racing industry, but the greyhound one, too. It is very important that you go to the track and enjoy the social aspect that is involved at all of the greyhound tracks and horse tracks around the country. I thank the Minister and am glad to support this Bill.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister. What better man to know about racing than himself in the county that has Punchestown, Naas and the Curragh, all of which I have attended on many occasions?

I support the fund. We had a long, reasonable debate last night. The Minister touched on a number of the issues, so I will not repeat them. They are on the record of the Oireachtas. Not everyone here may know it but the Department issues a letter of parameters every year about funding, which is very important. We discussed that last night at the joint Oireachtas committee on agriculture. It is important that the detail in those letters is continued because they set down the parameters, as the Minister said to us last night. We need greater emphasis on welfare. For those who are not directly involved, Horse Sport Ireland, HSI, does not get this funding. The Minister explained all of that well last night.

There has been a lot of damaging publicity for the horse industry and I like to talk about that in its broadest sense. Horse Sport Ireland does amazing work. There is the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, IHRB, and there is Horse Racing Ireland, HRI. I commend their work. In time, we might need to look at this whole fund again to see if we can include others. I will again make the case that there should be some money set aside in this fund - it may need new changes or to be tweaked through legislation - for Horse Sport Ireland, as it is a very important part of the equestrian world. The regulation around that is weak. That is not a criticism of HSI but there may need to be additional funding for it. Of course, there is the international equestrian team and there are great things going on in the equestrian world generally, such as in eventing, cross-country, etc. When we talk about the Irish sport horse or race horse, people outside the industry see it all as being one collective. It is an amazing thing we can be so proud of in Ireland. I know the Minister is a champion of it and he comes from one of the greatest horse counties in the country, Kildare, and he represents it well.

I acknowledge the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board and the work it does. Its strategy is from 2024 to 2027. We keep a track on it - I certainly do - and it is making great progress. I thank the board. I take this opportunity to thank Ms Suzanne Eade, who heads up Horse Racing Ireland, for the important work she does and the management of Horse Sport Ireland. I ask that, in the future, we might look at that.

The Minister mentioned in his presentation last night and again today that, following a request from the Committee of Public Accounts, his Department had submitted an internal review of governance of the fund. Clearly, there may be issues we are not privy to now and we do not need to be privy to at this point. There is a process in place. It is in the hands of the Committee of Public Accounts but when possible, we should see a summary or an executive summary of that report to see if there are lessons from that or new recommendations.

I ask the Minister to keep an open mind on these matters and put a strong emphasis on welfare and governance in his Department's letter on the parameters. It is a huge amount of money, regardless of what anyone thinks. As the Minister told the committee last night, the governance side of this is critical because this industry will only survive if people have confidence in it and it has international integrity. We have to compete on the international stage. I wish the Minister well and he has my full support for this proposal.

Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister. It seems a little bit repetitive because the agriculture committee meeting was only yesterday evening and we are dealing with the same topic, so it seems like we are repeating ourselves, but when something is important enough to say, it is important enough to say it more than once.

I welcome the fund. As I stated yesterday evening and even though most people know, it would be remiss of me not to put on the record that I am a former chairperson of a rural track at Kilbeggan. I am a current director of Kilbeggan race company. I have raced horses in the past and we are currently breaking a yearling who is the dream. This will be the big one. The Minister knows himself that is how these dreams work.

I welcome the fund but I have to record my disappointment at the fact what is in budget 2026 is an equivalent sum to what was in budget 2025. I would have liked to have seen an increase. I warmly and strongly welcome what the Minister said at the conclusion of his statement about the ring-fenced money towards welfare on the back of the report that was commissioned for the Committee of Public Accounts.

As an active member and former chairperson of Kilbeggan, I can give my examples as to where the majority of this money goes. The reason I think it needs to be increased is because it is all going towards welfare. The vast majority of it goes towards welfare. While Kilbeggan is a sporting organisation, it does not qualify for sports capital. Our only source of funding for any capital development we undertake is a 40% grant from HRI. That 40% comes from this fund. The remaining 60% comes from the community. The past four projects we did cost between €1.5 million and €2 million overall. We put in an irrigation system to ensure the ground was safe at all times in the interest of horse welfare. There are new state-of-the-art stables, veterinary boxes, a trotting area with rubberised ground and so on, all in the interest of horse welfare and veterinary services on our race tracks. During that period, CCTV cameras were also installed at the request of IHRB but actually funded by HRI. That was again for horse welfare and anti-doping. We had to put down rubberised mats all around our parade ring. They were all the projects. Our current project is a new medical centre. That is for the health and safety of the jockeys and others involved. That is where the money goes. If we stagnate funding, those are the areas that will lose out.

Last year, Rásaíocht Con Éireann spent €4 million on welfare issues. Included in that expenditure were dental health schemes, kennel improvement schemes, traceability schemes, greyhound care funding and greyhound care centres. That is where the money goes. If we oppose this funding, we are actually opposing welfare. That is why I would have liked to have seen it increase. HRI has plans for a national equine centre and I welcome the announcement of the second all-weather track, which are all positive moves, but there were problems and there always are problems. There will always be a bad apple and a bad actor in any area. Our goal is to weed those out through the funding, schemes, welfare inspections, etc. We need to weed out the bad actors.

I was here for the Greyhound Racing Act 2019 and we have seen massive improvements when it comes to traceability, welfare and governance issues since that Act.We need to continue working along those lines to improve that. I would go as far as saying that there are a lot of dog issues. We deal with them regularly through the agriculture system, for example, sheep worrying, stray dogs, etc. If every dog owner was as dedicated and committed and worked to the same husbandry as greyhound owners did, we would not actually have dog welfare issues or dog problems. We, the people in this industry, are the flag bearers. I am not going to go through it. I had all the figures here in front of me as well.

My colleague and neighbour from Longford mentioned a number of race meetings, the statistics and the return we get. We are talking in the bigger picture about a very small investment for the return the two industries bring to our economy. All we have to do is go to Killarney or Galway or Punchestown and see the amount of money that is being spent by tourists, not only domestic but from overseas, who come to these isles to support this. They do so from a sporting point of view, but they are ultimately industries that are employing people and injecting money into rural economies where money is badly needed and there is not much else going on.

We need to keep improving. I am never going to deny that. As I said, there were issues with the governance. We have seen massive improvements on the greyhound side. The greyhounds were probably seen as the poor relation. As a racing man, I would often have possibly regretted the fact that maybe the greyhound side was causing more problems than we needed to be dealing with. I have to acknowledge Rásaíocht Con Éireann, RCÉ, and all the massive improvements it is making. As I said, there was €4 million alone last year on welfare. It was a mess - nobody is denying that - but we have to acknowledge progress, and we have to keep funding further progress. We should all know better than anybody as politicians that we will never solve all the problems. They are never all going to be solved, but we have to try to keep going in the right direction, and we should never slow down progress or inhibit it. As I said, I do wish that the fund could increase. I know there are budgetary constraints but I hope, going into the future, the Minister might be able to raise it again because standing still is not progress.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome representatives from the Wexford Rape Crisis centre. They are guests of the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Verona Murphy. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today. I thank them very much.

I call Senator Andrews.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for coming in. We are essentially being asked today to approve €20 million in public funding for Greyhound Racing Ireland. It is very difficult to support this allocation year after year in light of the significant issues of accountability, transparency and integrity within Greyhound Racing Ireland as well as a lack of value for money for the Exchequer in propping up this industry. The Jim Power report of 2021 claims that greyhound owners contribute €117 million annually to the economy. However, the analysis, using GRI's own data, shows this figure is overstated by 239%. The real contribution is closer to €49 million, not €117 million. The report includes coursing litters outside GRI's remit, counts dogs in the North within its total despite GRI not operating there, and assumes racing careers of 48 months when GRI's own data shows an average of just 9.6 months. The breeding pool is overstated, mortality figures are missing and the report itself admits, in bold capitals, that all of the assumptions came from GRI. This is not independent analysis. It is GRI grading its own homework, and it is not acceptable. Yet, the report omits the most critical fact: exports. Every year - this is an astonishing figure - 6,000 greyhounds are exported to Britain, which is underpinning a €2.7 billion gambling industry. At a 2019 Oireachtas hearing, GRI's own chairman admitted that, without exports, the industry would not be financially viable. Yet, exports, supposedly the very lifeline of the industry, are absent from the report measuring its economic significance. How flawed can you get? In fact, an analysis of the costings applied in the Jim Power 2021 report showed that the vast majority of greyhounds exported to Britain are exported at a loss. What that means is that the Irish taxpayers are, in effect, subsidising British bookmakers. Explain that to me. How does that make any sense?

On the issue of animal welfare, the Greyhound Racing Act 2019 promised a traceability system to track greyhounds throughout their lives. After two years, €295,000 in development plus €92,000 annually, the traceability system was launched in 2021. It was compared to the cattle tracking system and it was meant to cover all life events. That was the promise. What was delivered is an exercise in deception. The system fails to track life stages, excludes illness, excludes injury and performance and disconnects dropout causes from outcomes. Hidden within the inflated figures for active greyhounds are thousands of greyhounds that have not been accounted for. When the Minister for agriculture was asked for the gross match data, GRI failed to provide him with the figures in the last term citing irrelevant technical limitations of its own system - a non-compliance with its own system. There have been nearly 10,000 suspensions in two years for non-compliance by greyhound owners. A system requiring 5,000 enforcement actions annually is not a success; it is a failure by design. The current policy of unconditional funding rewards opacity, inflates economic claims and ignores systemic welfare failures. It undermines public trust and takes advantage of the taxpayer. We are being asked to allocate €20 million based on economic figures overstated by wide margins and a traceability system that has been absolutely shambolic. This is not value for money. It is a misuse of the Irish taxpayers' funds. What is needed is an independent analysis of greyhound racing in Ireland and the implementation of genuine tracking systems of greyhounds. What we have now is an unconditional taxpayer subsidy with no demand on GRI to be accountable or transparent to the public. Until that changes, we cannot expect to see improvement in efficiency and animal welfare within the greyhound industry.

I will also mention the practice of surgical artificial insemination. That is a barbaric practice. I am sure the Minister obviously knows what it is. For those who do not know, surgical artificial insemination is where the dog's abdomen is cut open, the uterus is removed, the semen is inserted, and the dog is sewn back up again. The dog is supposed to carry the pups through until birth while recovering from that operation. I know there are people here speaking up about greyhounds. How can anybody in this House justify that and see how that is okay to do to any dog? It has been banned for all the other dogs, so why not greyhounds? The Minister has carried out the report. He keeps saying that Government is considering it, but that has been going on for 16 months. Surgical artificial insemination is being carried out while the Minister is looking at that report. He cannot justify that barbaric practice. By not making a decision to ban surgical artificial insemination, he is effectively allowing it to go ahead. That is completely unacceptable. I do not think the vast majority of people in the public - taxpayers who are paying a huge amount of money to the tune of €20 million per year - would see that as good care for greyhounds.

While I have the information here, I will also mention the rescues. There are two rescue care homes for greyhounds.In 2024 they got €291,000 from the taxpayer, from this fund, and 36 dogs were homed. That is just over €8,000 to home each dog. Somebody is robbing somebody else. I hear people talking about greyhound welfare. I do not know whose welfare they are talking about because the greyhounds are not seeing any of the welfare and that is completely unacceptable. There is no value for money. The Irish taxpayer is being pickpocketed in order to pay for the greyhound industry and the so-called welfare. This Government and previous Governments have failed miserably on dog welfare and greyhound welfare. It is the Minister's responsibility and the buck stops with him. If he cannot see how inhumane and lacking the State is regarding the unacceptable practices that are being carried out with the permission of the Government, I just do not get it. Surgical artificial insemination is barbaric and it needs to be banned right away.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the women's equality group from Bray, County Wicklow, who are guests of Deputy John Brady. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I will not be supporting this motion. Budget 2026 saw almost €20 million being used to prop up a declining greyhound industry. This industry does not enjoy widespread public support, largely due to the significant and widely known animal welfare concerns. I reject the continuous tying together of the horse racing and greyhound industry funding model. This motion once again binds together the two into a single inflexible funding model. While these regulations appear technical, they have real consequences. Every year, this structure forces the Oireachtas to approve a package that allocates an 80-20 split that is automatic, regardless of performance, public interest or welfare outcomes.

In addition, the greyhound racing industry is totally self-regulated. The result is that greyhound racing receives unconditional public funding, insulated from the scrutiny and accountability we would expect elsewhere. These dogs did not ask for this life. They did not ask for broken legs, crushed vertebrae, dislocated wrists, torn muscles, ruptured tendons or catastrophic spinal injuries, all of which are regularly recorded on Irish tracks, never mind the cruel practice of surgical artificial insemination, which is indeed incredibly barbaric. Some of these injuries are so severe that euthanasia happens on site. Others are treatable, but not economically worth it for the industry. We know dogs are routinely euthanised simply because they cannot run fast enough. The issue of track-related deaths barely scratches the surface of the broader crisis facing the industry. In 2019, we were all very aware of the RTÉ documentary, "Greyhounds Running for Their Lives", which justifiably sparked national outrage by exposing the grim reality that over 6,000 dogs were being put down annually simply for the reason that they could not run fast enough.

Some improvements have been made, but major problems remain, and that shows how deep the crisis is. I am aware that trainers themselves are concerned about the high death rates and track injuries, particularly compared with rates we are seeing in Britain. The figures are appalling. We have heard for years that greyhound welfare is a priority. Why is it that in 2024 we saw more track-related greyhound deaths than ever before? The greyhound industry is not approaching animal protection in a modern or humane way. Traceability has exposed, not solved, the welfare crisis. Greyhounds are still dying at the same rate as they were in 2019. Despite the promised reforms and despite the €400 million we heard was spent on it last year, animal welfare remains very low. The traceability system, far from providing welfare improvements, has exposed just how deep the problem is. According to RCÉ's own system, of the greyhounds born in 2021, the first full year of traceability, 41% are already dead or unaccounted for. These are dogs under five years old. They would be five years old if they were around today but nearly half of them are gone. Last year was the worst on record for greyhound welfare outcomes and yet we continue to hear claims of improvement, including at the agriculture committee last night, based on a six-year-old report that bears no resemblance to present realities.

The evidence could not be any clearer that the industry is failing these animals. The rehoming system is a facade, not a welfare solution. Greyhound Racing Ireland's care homes, as it calls them, and the Retired Greyhound Trust are frequently held up as proof of progress but the truth is stark. Facilities are presented as fostering but they are actually functioning as holding units. More than €1 million was spent in 2024 on this model, which is over €8,000 per dog, and only ten dogs at a time can be cared for. Contrast this with the ISPCA, which, including its enforcement duty, received the equivalent of just under €900 per dog. DEEL Sighthound Rescue in Limerick rehomed 143 dogs last year, 23 of them ex-racing greyhounds, and it received just €15,500 from the State, which was about €75 per dog. It cost DEEL to do the rehoming.

If we truly value animal welfare and taxpayers' money then funding should go to established rescue centres with proven track records, not an industry that has failed to deliver on rehoming and animal welfare. Decoupling these funding streams is the only route to accountability. The coupling of horse and greyhound funding is the primary mechanism protecting the greyhound industry from scrutiny, yet every year, because of the statutory coupling, we are forced to approve both even if we have serious ethical concerns about one of the industries. Without decoupling, nothing changes. With decoupling, accountability for the greyhound racing industry finally becomes a possibility.

Should we not pause to consider that we are one of only seven countries in the world where commercial greyhound racing is even still legal? One of seven. Why are we determined to keep this dying sector on life support? In 2023, greyhound tracks were 70% to 91% empty. Last year, attendance dropped by 25,000. Why are we spending nearly €20 million to sustain a system that produces broken bones and early deaths and where animals are treated as commodities rather than sentient beings? This is not who we are and it is not what we should fund. We are a country of animal lovers but the statistics and stories that come out of the greyhound racing industry do us absolutely no credit when we talk about being animal lovers.

For all these reasons - the injuries, the traceability failures, the cost inefficiencies, the re-homing scandals, the legal classification of greyhounds as agricultural animals and the lack of any meaningful accountability - I cannot support these regulations. More importantly, I am calling for a new, modern funding model, one that decouples horse racing and greyhound racing from each other, evaluates them independently and aligns public funding with public values. Until this reform is delivered, approving these regulations means perpetuating an outdated, unethical and unjustifiable system within the greyhound racing industry.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I would like to acknowledge our colleague, Seanadóir Blaney, in the Public Gallery. He is accompanied by Alex Corrigan. Alex's aunt, Maria Corrigan, was here from 2007 to 2011. I hope you enjoy your visit here today. I would also like to acknowledge two transition year students, Alex O'Hagan and Kathleen Kinsella, who are interning in Deputy Cormac Devlin's office. They are in the Public Gallery as well. I hope you enjoy your experience here today.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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After years and years of similar discussion and similar points that have been made again and again, this year I did not put in the amendments I usually put in, which are usually blocked. The concerns are in fact deepening, however. I was looking back at all the times we have spoken on this and all the times we have raised it. I was looking at the deterioration in some of the areas where we should have seen improvements. I want to first briefly say that the fundamental piece, something we have called for year after year, is that what needs to happen is a separation. We need to be having separate discussions about Horse Racing Ireland and the greyhound industry. It actually does a great disservice to Horse Racing Ireland and the horse racing industry that every year the debate about it ends up focusing largely on the issue of animal welfare abuses and poor practices in the greyhound industry, which is effectively hiding within the same fund. Let us separate them out and have honest discussions on both. Let us look at this funding in a separate way and have it as two separate funds that have to be tested and debated and, where necessary, challenged on their own merits.There are questions, issues and areas for improvement within the horse racing funding we have in Ireland. The Minister outlined the significant profit and the major wins, but how much of that profit is going to smaller numbers at the top? I know there is employment, which is great to see, but we also know that, for example, the betting industry profits very significantly from the activities that are subsidised and supported by the State through Horse Racing Ireland. We also know there are issues in relation to welfare, but also in terms of how other horse practices in Ireland are supported or not.

In the time I have today, I am going to focus, as others have and as I have here year after year, on the greyhound industry. The greyhound industry is not popular. It is not widely supported by the public. It is not an inherently profitable industry. It is an industry riddled with flaws and poor practices that we have failed to address again and again.

The Minister launched a new animal welfare strategy yesterday.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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It was a public consultation.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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It was a consultation on the new strategy. Again, the timing is interesting as it comes just at this moment. I am very curious to see how animal welfare for greyhounds will be addressed. I saw people shaking their heads, but these were burning issues in the discussion that we had on the Greyhound Racing Act in 2019. I refer to issues such as surgical artificial insemination, overbreeding and the effective large-scale mass euthanisation of greyhounds. During the debate on the Greyhound Racing Act 2019, let us be clear, these improvements were imposed on the industry. Senator Ruane and I won two amendments. We won the requirement, for the first time, that a vet be anywhere near the board of the greyhound racing industry. We won, and they were made to rehome. It is section 29 in that Act. It was not a spontaneous attempt by people who want to care for their greyhounds and make sure they are well. Rehoming is a legal requirement that was placed on them in section 29 of that Act. Those are the concessions we won. I will come back to how they have been diluted by the industry.

Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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You won because we agreed with you.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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Yes, and I acknowledged that. They were important in the sense that it was recognised politically that the industry did have to be told. I will come back to section 29 in a moment. The piece that did not move forward then was the overbreeding practices, about which we heard absolutely gruelling and awful information. There was a 50% death rate in five years, or four years for some, as we have heard from Senator Stephenson. That is bad. Mass euthanisation was exposed. At one point, 6,000 greyhounds were euthanised in one year. Surgical artificial insemination is a terrible and grotesque animal welfare practice. We should not need a consultation to tell us. It is very evident and clear. The issue was not addressed back in 2019 and it needs to be addressed now. I do not want us to come in next year. I hope next year we will have separate debates on horse racing and greyhound racing. I also hope we are not in a situation where the same bad practices are being carried forward because they are indefensible - ethically, economically or on any basis.

I feel strongly about section 29. This is based on the amendment on rehoming that we put forward and that was accepted by the House because it made sense. I acknowledge that. Section 29 requires rehoming. We see greyhounds and lurchers everywhere, but these are a tiny fraction of the numbers that are being overbred because so many of them die before they get anywhere near a rehoming practice. Back in 2022, I spoke about my concern that the situation was moving backwards and that reminders and notes were sent out by the Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation to greyhound owners telling them not to use the rescue or rehoming services that were critical of the industry. Likewise, the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust was told it should only engage with rehoming services that refrain from criticising the industry. Again, we have a completely different agenda being imposed and we placed it alongside what we have heard in regard to the figures Senator Stephenson gave us. The cost of rehoming through the trust is €8,000, with its preferred partners. The cost of rehoming a dog through the animal welfare organisations that have been pushed to the side is between €100 and €1,000. Is the €7,000 to save the blushes of the industry or is somebody making a very large profit from a measure that was introduced in section 29 and meant to be a matter of welfare for the dogs? The Minister has the power to regulate under section 29 and to strengthen and improve the regulations under that section. I would like to see how that is done and how that specific issue is addressed.

I am sure there are individual owners who are responsible, but there were 5,000 enforcement notices and 10,000 potential breaches from 6,000 owners. The figures for breaches, set alongside the relatively small number of owners, points to not a few bad apples - I say this with absolute respect to my colleague - but to cultural problems within the industry. If we are getting that level of breach with that small number of owners, then we have to say the industry does not really show that it has changed.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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It is also not profitable. This is not an appropriate use of our public money. I will be opposing the motion today.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge Deputy O'Flynn and his guests in the Gallery. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today.

I also welcome the students and teachers from Our Lady's National School Ballinteer. I hope they enjoy their visit. It is the tradition that they get no homework for the rest of the day when you come here to visit.

Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)
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And none tomorrow.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I hope they enjoy their visit.

Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the hard-working Minister. I am in favour of the motion he has brought before us. Coming from Mullingar, I have a lot of links and a strong relationship with horse racing and dog racing in particular. We have a track at Kilbeggan, as Senator Paul Daly mentioned. He has been heavily involved with it over the years. Navan is only up the road and Tullamore is a bit further on from Kilbeggan. I have had great days out and great occasions. I have great friends involved in all these areas and I wish them continued success.

We strive to achieve success and the highest standards. We must weed out the few bad apples. That is extremely important. I agree with Senator Higgins. The surgical insemination procedure is under review. It belongs to a bygone era. I attend dog racing tracks four or five times a year and I have not heard of that procedure in years. I can say that with my hand on my heart. My learned friend here tells me that the procedure is done in less than one in 1,000 cases. It happens in an extremely small number of cases. While I suggest it is a red herring, it is not to be ignored. I agree with my learned friend. I am sure the Minister will come back to us when the review has been carried out.

Nowhere compares to Ireland for thoroughbred racing, in particular for dogs and also horses. The money they bring to Ireland through tourism is second to none. Likewise, the entertainment is second to none. It is one of our biggest tourism industries. The figures speak for themselves. I have listened to a lot of my learned friends who have stated the figures already.

I asked one of the learned Senators who was talking about this the other day when was the last time they were at a racetrack. It was an extremely long time ago.I encourage Members to come to a race meeting and see how trainers and owners treat and mind and are so anxious about their livestock, their animals and thoroughbreds - dogs and horses. I would be delighted to welcome any Members to Mullingar, Shelbourne Park down the road from here if it suits better, or Dundalk racecourse. They are all fabulous facilities. The care these people go to is evident.

I agree with Senator Paul Daly about the funding. I am disappointed there is not more funding in the Minister's envelope. As Senator Daly said, nothing sits still. As we know, the cost of feed and many different resources have gone up over the last while, including power, manpower and everything else. I listened intently to the whole vibe of this conversation and some good points were made which I agree with. I wholeheartedly agree that nobody wants to see cruelty to any animal. No owner or trainer, as far as I have seen in my lifetime, has inflicted that. There are red herrings and there is the odd bad apple but that is it, in my experience. Who would go out and pay thousands of euro for a horse and then give it to a trainer who is going to abuse it? It would make no sense. An animal is not going to perform if it is not being looked after in good conditions. I would be fair and never criticise any other party or anyone else here in this House. I do not have a record of doing so. I am curious, though. Under Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats and some Independents, whom I have listened to intently, where is this leading to? Is it leading to there being no dog races? Are we going to look at King Charles spaniels and Maltese being run outside latte houses or something? What version do we get to? It seems clear to me that dog racing is a no-no and they want it banned. That is what my friends are telling me here. In regard to horse races, it seems like the only horse race we would see is on a carousel somewhere. I disagree with that totally. The fundamental heart, spirit and culture of Ireland disagrees with that.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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I do not think that is right.

Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail)
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I did not interrupt the Senator. I listened intently and I agreed with the point she made.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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On horse racing, however, Senator Davitt attributed comments to us that were-----

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Senator Davitt, without interruption.

Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail)
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I am talking about the way it is going and the regulation. I have listened to talk of broken legs and everything else. Where are they not going to break them? On a carousel, is the reality. I am well entitled to make my point, and a very valid one it is.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Senator Davitt, the time is up.

Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail)
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Fortunately, people where I come from, and thankfully most people, do not have this type of government in place. It is not the popular choice.

Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I will be supporting this measure. I am acutely aware of the many trainers and breeders we have for horses and greyhounds in County Wexford. In my home town of Enniscorthy we have the Enniscorthy greyhound track, a privately operated track funded locally. It is run by a voluntary board of directors made up of local individuals. We have Wexford Racecourse, the home of many enjoyable afternoons of racing. There is also a dynamic that has not been raised in the Chamber yet, which is the many fundraising initiatives that take place week in and week out at Enniscorthy dog track and also at the race course in Wexford town. It is important to acknowledge the contribution that is made to local community groups and organisations. Sports clubs and many vital charitable causes avail of the fundraising opportunities that these tracks provide. I acknowledge the fact that we have a Minister in the Department who, like his predecessors, wants to see the highest standards of welfare in both industries. I recognise the contribution that was made earlier about artificial insemination. I certainly have concerns about that. I welcome the fact that the Minister is engaging with his officials on the possibility of regulating that area and I want to see the highest standards of welfare across both sectors.

However, what was not referenced in the contributions from the Social Democrats, Sinn Féin and certain Independents was the jobs. The greyhound industry supports 4,000 jobs. There are 6,000 individual trainers, breeders and owners of dogs throughout the country. Almost 30,000 jobs are directly supported by the horse racing industry. My concern here is that if you pull this funding overnight and it was to disappear and dry up, I do not know whether the industry and those jobs would actually be there without it. It is important that we support both sectors - greyhound racing and horse racing - while at all times having to the forefront of our mind the absolute need to prioritise and do everything we possibly can on animal welfare and animal welfare supports. I recognise the €4 million that has been put into animal welfare supports. I recognise the regulations that have been brought in by the Department of agriculture. I certainly will be supportive of any other measures the Minister for agriculture believes are needed in order to prioritise welfare.

However, we also have to have regard to the vital jobs in rural Ireland that both industries support. For those reasons, I will be supporting this motion. I am happy to engage with the Minister on any welfare requirements that he sees fit. However, the jobs have to be respected too and the contribution that is made throughout rural Ireland, including in countries like my own in Wexford.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senators for their valuable contributions to what is an important debate. I respect everyone's strongly held views on both sides of the House. I have a written response but I would prefer to go through the individual points that have been raised by colleagues. That would be more beneficial in terms of the very valid points that have been raised across the board, starting with Senator Brady. He articulately outlined the economic benefits to areas of Roscommon from the horse racing activity that happens on the track there, but also the impact on Longford town when the greyhound track was lost. There was the acute sense that sometimes you do not really appreciate what you have until it is gone. We know the impact that can have.

Regarding the all-weather track for Tipperary, a lot of people who have horses in training need an outlet to race them. For a trainer in Munster, Dundalk is an awful long way away on a Friday night. A race might finish at 10 p.m. on a Friday night and staff would not get home until 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. A key point to make, one I made at the committee last night, is that after the Exchequer funding, which is very significant, the other major financial contributor to the horse racing sector is the owners of horses, those who invest in buying those horses. Let us be honest, these are individuals who use their after-tax earned money to go into this leisure pursuit and have this activity. That money directly feeds into our trainers' yards, all the staff they employ, and into breeding, the various sales that happen around the country and the breeding establishments and all the jobs. There is that direct link there. In terms of the return for those owners, to have the opportunity to race those horses is critical. Senator Brady also highlighted the welfare provision of the all-weather track and how important that is.

Senator Boyhan talked about the letter of parameters to HRI and RCÉ. Absolutely, we are talking about a lot of taxpayers' money here. It is absolutely right that I would set out in correspondence very clearly the service level agreements that they have with the IHRB, the requirements and the reporting requirements there are and the oversight there is in the administration of that funding. There is also the fact that we have it clearly set out around what we expect in terms of investment and expenditure in the area of welfare and integrity, but HRI and RCÉ have surpassed the minimum threshold that I set for them. I look forward to making public the report that was requested by the Committee of Public Accounts and which I have submitted to it and the relevant bodies. I will implement the recommendations on increasing that contribution. That will not be an issue because both sectors are going over and beyond what has been required of them.

Horse Sport Ireland carries out important activities. The sport horse is an important part, no more than the breeding of the thoroughbred horse for the racing industry. That is largely the same with greyhounds as well. The breeding activity of thoroughbreds, like sport horses, is predominantly an activity carried out by people who farmers. It is an alternative income source as well. Some 80% of thoroughbreds bred in this country are bred by people who have four mares or fewer. They are not the big studs. They are farmers who have a few mares, with a dream like Senator Daly. We look forward to keeping a close eye on his one-year-old that is currently being broken.

Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)
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Can we get the name?

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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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-----

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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What is the delay?

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The public consultation is completed. The results have to be collated. I have instructed my officials that I want that published as soon as possible and Senators will see that report imminently. It will absolutely happen this year. This will not be long-fingered.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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Will it be before the end of the year?

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Please allow the Minister to speak without interruption.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Yes, absolutely; imminently. The Senator has my word on that.

A number of Senators raised the issue of rehoming and related matters. As happened in committee last night, a number of figures were being referenced around rehoming and linkages with expenditure on that. Senator Davitt talked earlier about red herrings, which is a strong phrase, and about absolutely making sure we adequately represent elements. Those very small numbers were just in relation to domestic rehomings. They did not take account of the greyhounds that were accommodated at one of the greyhound care centres that were selected for rehoming. The 587 greyhounds rehomed through international rehoming partners of the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust were not included in those figures. As Senator Higgins outlined, rehoming has become more of a focus in recent years and has broad acceptance. Animal welfare, at a broad level, is something that evolves over time in terms of public acceptance and the social acceptability of things that happen. Things that happened years ago do not happen anymore and this is an evolving area. In terms of rehoming, we are putting a lot of resources into that space. RCE is doing that and it is happening more and more. That is something that we want to see continue because we know that greyhounds make fabulous pets. There is a significant role in that space.

Some Senators suggested that this is a very unpopular industry and that nobody likes greyhound racing. However, it is important to reflect on the fact that the attendance figures in 2024, across almost 1,500 race meetings, were almost 360,000 - 358,141 to be precise - and those people would prove the contrary. The points that Senator Byrne made about economic activity at the Enniscorthy greyhound track and the local clubs that fundraise are relevant. Thanks to a night at Newbridge greyhound track, my parish was able to raise over €10,000 for the roof of the church. Everybody really enjoyed that night. We must acknowledge the economic activity, the output that results from the relatively low cost of running such events and the social importance of them.

On the horse racing side, total reported attendances by each racecourse supplied to HRI for 2024 amounted to 1.242 million, an increase on 2023. The first six months of 2025 have shown a healthy rise in reported racecourse attendances. Total attendance for that period stands at 566,377, which belies the insinuation that this is not a popular activity or is something that does not have widespread support.

The other point I want to make relates to prize money. There was a suggestion that this is a wealthy person's game, and I understand the imagery around that. A lot of the Senators who spoke in favour of this fund today know exactly where those rural jobs are and know the impact of the investment across our rural communities. We see that first hand and so we get passionate about this. We also get passionate about the fact that the prize money supports the dream. We talked here about the dream of breeding and owning a horse that can have a big, successful day and the prestige that goes with that. Obviously, it is an expensive hobby to have a horse in training and all of the costs that go with that. Prize money plays a key role in that regard. We talk about Ireland being an international world leader, but we are competing with France, the UK, the USA, Japan and others. I was in Japan earlier this year and saw the finances that are going into that space. The funding models are very different. They have the pari-mutuel in France, which means that a lot more resources are going in. That really matters.

It is important, however, to reflect on the factbook from 2024, which showed that there were 390 horse racing fixtures, 8,022 individual runners and 27% of horses won at least one race. Some 5,800 of the individual runners won prize money at some stage, which equates to around 73%. In 2023, it was 71%. Out of around 2,900 individual races, over 2,400 had prize money of under €25,000, with 129 having prize money greater than €100,000. I was struck when Senator Brady talked about the memory he had of winning early money on a greyhound. You might not remember the amount, but you remember the winning feeling. That is why people have racehorses. It gives them that sense of hope. Prize money is a key element of that, as is keeping our international comparators.

In response to the point Senator Stephenson made, which Senator Higgins made as well, about the 80:20 split, it is not my intention to change it. That has been common practice for some time.

In response to the point about curious timing of animal welfare, it is not curious. We have an animal welfare strategy that ran from 2021 to 2025. The new strategy needs to start in 2026, so it is entirely appropriate, in late 2025, to open a public consultation. It was in no way equated with that public launch. I was juggling my diary. I was in Brussels on Monday. I have to find days to do these things and I do them with the best of intentions. That animal welfare strategy is for people who are passionate about animals, whether they are farmers, pet owners or leisure enthusiasts. They may be for or against different things that happen but everybody will have their say. I have already spoken about the evolving nature of animal welfare and I want to see it improve into the future to reflect changes in society. The contributions that people make around animal welfare are something I will reflect on in future legislation coming down the line.

I have touched on the points made by Senators Davitt and Byrne. As I said in my opening address, section 12(13) of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001 provides that a draft of these regulations be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and a resolution approving the draft be passed by each House. I ask for the support of this House to ensure that Horse Racing Ireland and Rásaíocht Con Éireann receive the funding provided for in budget 2026. I commend this regulation to the House.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Could I make a quick point of order?

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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One moment, please. Just before I put the motion to the House, I want to welcome the Turkish Ambassador to Ireland, Her Excellency Mrs. Esra Cankorur, who is the guest of Senator Comyn.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I want to make a quick point of order in terms of making sure the record is accurate because-----

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I am not sure that is a point of order.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Something was inaccurately attributed to me. My entire contribution related to greyhound racing industry. I did not say anything relating to horse racing standards. I just wanted to make that point.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for that.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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That is what I was referencing.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I am sorry; it was not to do with the Minister. It was to do with some of the contributions from the Seanadóirí.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Does Senator Andrews have a point of order?

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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On a point of order, very briefly, on the surgical artificial insemination ban, will the Minister introduce a ban by the end of the year or will it be-----

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Sorry, this is not a point of order.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The public consultation will lead to a legislative process. It is going to happen-----

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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There will be no decision made about a ban by the end of the year.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I have been very clear.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I am sorry, Senator Andrews. I have to put the motion to the floor.

Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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It is not a point of order.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before I put the motion to the floor, I welcome Ms Emer Mugisha from Navan, who is a guest of Senator Linda Nelson Murray. I hope she enjoys her visit to Leinster House.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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When is it proposed to sit again?

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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Next Tuesday at 2.30 p.m.