Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 17: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on whether more funding should be provided for promoting Irish horse racing abroad in view of the fact that Ireland is now seen as one of the more affordable destinations for horse racing, especially in comparison to Britain; if he has been in contact with Horse Racing Ireland regarding the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34880/05]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland offers a unique racing experience to the race going public both at home and abroad. I am satisfied that Horse Racing Ireland, in close collaboration with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, is very much engaged in marketing that unique experience overseas.

HRI, as the national authority for racing, includes within its remit the representation of Irish racing abroad. Through its board, its senior executives and its international marketing subsidiary, Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, it promotes and enhances the reputation of the Irish thoroughbred industry internationally. Its five year strategic plan specifically prioritises the development and promotion of Ireland as a world centre of excellence for horse racing and breeding and I have every confidence that it is committing the necessary resources to that task.

I am aware that the HRI specifically targets overseas visitors to Irish race meetings, particularly racegoers in the UK. For 2006, it has earmarked over €1.5 million for overseas promotion. The UK racegoer in particular presents an outstanding opportunity for inward tourism based on the Irish racing product. It is estimated that in the region of 60,000 UK visitors come racing here each year and the three agencies, Horse Racing Ireland, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, consider that there is substantial potential for growth from this market given the fact that in excess of 6 million attendances are recorded annually at race meetings in the UK.

This is a highly affluent target sector with a propensity to spend on hotels, restaurant, car hire and other forms of entertainment. UK race goers are used to paying as much as double the Irish rate for reserved enclosure access, which, combined with the favourable sterling-euro exchange rate, gives us an unprecedented opportunity to offer a high quality racing experience at relatively better value than is available in the UK.

In addition to its own initiatives, Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, has a long standing relationship with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland in jointly promoting Ireland as a destination for racing tourism. At the behest of my Department, the three agencies are actively exploring possible synergies and, in that context, the HRI specifically identified the Punchestown Festival as an attractive event to grow inbound racing tourism. I understand that discussions between the HRI and the tourism agencies are well underway and I am confident that the combined expertise of the agencies will produce the right result for horse racing and for tourism.