Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have two questions for the Minister. We are talking about the allocation of €80 million to Horse Racing Ireland and Bord na gCon. In his opening statement the Minister said HRI contributes €1.6 billion to the economy and that Bord na gCon is responsible for an economic output of €500 million.

He went on to say that "these vital industries would simply not survive" without Government support. I remind the committee that the €80 million being provided represents just 5% of these industries' total contribution to the economy. At what point will these industries become self-sustaining? When will they be able to continue to operate without this annual funding of €80 million? Is that an aim of the Government? What is its aim in allocating these moneys each year? Perhaps the Minister will square the difference between what he said about the contribution of these industries to the economy and his statement that they need this money to survive. Will he explain that further?

Horse Racing Ireland, which will get €64 million under this proposal, seems to be opposed to the development of harness racing. Surely we should tap into the potential of this form of racing as a means of developing the industry as a whole. How can the opposition to harness racing be squared with the development of horse racing? What is the Department's view on this aspect of the matter?