Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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528. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans for separate funding to be made available specifically for the sport horse industry in view of recent successes by those competing in the sport horse industry and the prospects for greater development and success in this sector, with Ireland having qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50549/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is fully committed to maximising the potential of the Sport Horse industry and continues to provide support to it both financially and with policy initiatives. I have demonstrated my commitment to the industry by increasing the budget allocated to Horse Sport Ireland from €2.0m in 2017 to €2.5m in 2018 and I have approved a further increase of €500,000 to €3.0m in 2019. This is an increase of 50% on the 2017 allocation. That funding is dedicated specifically for that sector.

I remain committed to the sport horse industry and I am confident that this additional Government support will help the sector increase its economic and social contribution into the future. In addition, it should be noted that funding for the high performance equestrian sport sector is provided by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport headed by Minister Shane Ross.