Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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493. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of employees who were in the Irish Greyhound Board in 2004 when the turnover was €60 million. [15340/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Bord na gCon is a commercial State body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry.  In that context, it runs commercial operations in a number of greyhound stadia.

I have been informed by Bord na gCon that there were 122 full time and 564 part time employees in 2004.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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494. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of employees who are in the Irish Greyhound Board currently when the turnover is €30 million. [15343/17]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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495. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason so many extra staff have been hired by the Irish Greyhound Board during a period when it was evidently struggling financially. [15344/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 494 and 495 together.

Bord na gCon is a commercial State body, established in 1958, under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry.

Bord na gCon is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Bord na gCon has informed me that it currently directly employs 128 full time staff and approximately 720 part time staff. The number of full time equivalent staff has increased from 176 in 2012 to 240 in 2015, and 243 in 2016.

Of the increase in staff numbers between 2012 to 2016 the following analysis reflects the position:

- Total increase in full time equivalent staff between 2012 to 2016 was 67 positions.

- EHS (Food Services Division) accounts for 58 of these positions

- Five of the remaining nine positions catered for deficiencies in resources that were highlighted within the Indecon review.

- Additionally in that time BnG undertook the operation of Newbridge Stadium which involved an additional 5 full time equivalent staff.

The majority of the staff increase is due to the organisation bringing its catering function in-house (Food Services Division); a service previously provided by outside catering companies at various stadia.

The catering services were brought in-house due to the failure of external catering companies to successfully tender for the business in December 2014. The rates offered by the companies applying for the business were substantially below the rates paid in the previous contract, and these terms were below the minimum requirements outlined in the tender process. Acceptance of the rates offered would have meant a dramatic decrease in concession fee income to the group from 2015 onwards.