Maeve O'Connell (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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1226. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department is aware of the amount of funding that has been provided by Rásaíocht Con Éireann to a charity (details supplied) in the past 12 months, along with any other actions taken by his Department to fulfil the commitment in the programme for Government to ‘Ensure that Rásaíocht Con Éireann continues to provide financial support for the charity. [10556/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) 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. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

A strong commitment to improved animal welfare in the greyhound racing sector is set out in the Programme for Government, which requires RCÉ to continue to provide financial support for the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust (IRGT) and to contribute to rehoming greyhounds.

The Irish Retired Greyhound Trust (IRGT) is a Registered Charity established by RCÉ in January 1997 to afford greyhound owners the opportunity to rehome their greyhounds once greyhounds have retired from competitive action. RCÉ have informed my Department that it provided direct funding of €397,334 to the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust in 2024.

In addition, RCÉ provided funding of almost €1.1m towards the Greyhound Care Centres and the Greyhound Foster Centres which accommodates greyhounds being rehomed through the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust. RCÉ also provided €16K to private Greyhound Rehoming organisations in Ireland who rehome greyhounds internationally. The IRGT also provides financial assistance to these organisations towards veterinary costs, transportation costs and for any domestic rehoming’s.

RCÉ have committed to providing similar levels of funding to the IRGT and to Greyhound Rehoming initiatives in 2025.

Since 2020, my Department has ring-fenced 10% of the allocation to RCÉ for welfare including integrity. A key priority of the board of RCÉ is the continued expansion to the Care and Welfare initiatives which include a range of measures.

My Department operates a number of procedures and processes to ensure that RCÉ comply with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State bodies 2016 (the Code) associated circulars and relevant legislation including full consideration of financial statements, maintenance of communication at all levels and written oversight documentation in the form of a Shareholders Letter of Expectation.