PAC member sharply criticises Govt after it increases horse and greyhound funding to €99.1m

A SENIOR MEMBER of the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee has sharply criticised the government for what she said was the “depressing” decision to increase funding for the horse and greyhound industries.

It’s after it emerged following yesterday’s Budget that the Horse and Greyhound Fund will now receive €99.1m in taxpayers’ money. This is a 4.3% increase, up from €95m last year.

A total of €79.3m has been directed to horse racing and €19.8m to the greyhound industry.

“It’s a sign of the strange priorities the government has in this Budget,” Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy told The Journal.

The Kildare North TD – who is the deputy chair of the PAC – said there were separate pressing issues facing both sports.

She said the horse industry has been mired in controversy since the “major scandal” surrounding revelations around the Shannonside Foods abattoir in Murphy’s constituency earlier this year.

Shannonside Foods controversy

An RTÉ Investigates programme broadcast in June used hidden cameras at the site of the abattoir for horses in Straffan, Co Kildare and uncovered animal welfare concerns for horses.

The abattoir is operated through Shannonside Foods, who told RTÉ at the time that the footage captured “will be fully investigated by the Company”.

The Department of Agriculture and gardaí also launched investigations as a result of the RTÉ film.

Donohoe defends spending

Addressing criticism of the government last night, Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe said he and Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue were aware of the issues posed by controversies such as Shanndonside Foods when they “agreed the overall budget for the department”.

He said the government are committed to improving animal welfare and also pointed to the economic success of the horse racing industry.

The Fine Gael TD said that Department of Agriculture receives a total of €2.1bn and argued that the €99.1m is a “small share” of the overall department.

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“I know from working with him now over a number of years that [McConalogue] is very much committed to animal welfare, and is aware of the many allegations and issues that have been there in relation to the industry,” Donohoe said.

“And I know he and the government would expect that this money should be and must be spent in a way that meets all of the right standards.” And secondly, you know, there continues to be some economic benefit behind the sector, and that is reflected then in the scheme.

Horse and Greyhound Fund – a long-running controversy

The Horse and Greyhound Fund has been a source of controversy since it was in 2001 by the Fianna Fáil-led government of the day. It ringfences government monies for the two sports under the Department of Agriculture rather than the Department of Sport.

Murphy said she would like to see the Horse and Greyhound Fund “separated” from each other, describing horse racing as an industry which she said is still “valuable, employs a lot of people, with a lot of interest in its own right”.

“I think that’s very different to [the greyhound industry] that has been in decline for many years now and is not viable in its own right.”

Her call was echoed by advocacy group Greyhound Action Ireland which described the allocation of €19.8 million to the greyhound industry as “outrageous”.

It pointed to figures secured via the Oireachtas showing that 2,772 – or more than a third – of the racing greyhounds born in 2021 and still remaining on the island of Ireland are either dead or unaccounted for.

“The oldest of those dogs would not yet be 4,” the group said.

It added that last year Greyhound Racing Ireland’s stadiums were between 70% and 91% empty, which it said showed that the sport had not maintained enough interest from the public following welfare controversies.

“The economics of it just don’t stack up without all that [State] support,” she said.

“The whole thing needs to be reconsidered,” she continued, adding that the funding the sports exclusively receive from the betting tax levy needs to also be examined.

She said “football plays a strong role” among people who gamble on sport and said that should also receive funding from that pot.

With reporting by Christina Finn

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