I mentioned yesterday that this part of the Bill was necessary to get more finance into racing. No matter how one looks at this amendment it is an unreasonable proposal, because the Racing Board must get the consent of the Minister for Finance. That has always been the case in the past when the maximum levy was 5 per cent. The Racing Board, whenever they wanted to change it, had to get the sanction of the Minister for Finance, and that sanction could be given without reference to the Dáil. Under section 9 of the amending Bill, there is an obligation to lay the orders before the House. If, therefore, the House or any Member wishes to annul the order, they have full control over it, which is a distinct change from what has operated in the past. I mentioned yesterday that in the case of Bord na gCon, strangely enough, there is no ceiling whatever, and if sanction is given by the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries in the case of Bord na gCon, again there is the requirement that the regulations be laid before the House, so this is precisely on all fours with that with the exception of the limitation.
I think most Deputies will agree that it would be ridiculous to establish a statutory board such as we have established in this case and every time they wanted to take a decision on matters which they were established to deal with, they had to seek the sanction of the Dáil. In fact, because of the change in the requirement of laying regulations before the House, it would be unthinkable that the board would proceed to implement a decision in the knowledge that the matter could be questioned and that an annulling order could be put down.
I think the proposal to increase the levy is a reasonable one taking into account the fact that all the previous experience indicates that different boards acted in a reasonable way, because originally the levy was 5 per cent and it was subsequently reduced, and then over the years raised again to 5 per cent. Bearing in mind the change in the value of money and the fact that it is recognised generally that it is essential to increase stakes, I believe the proposal in the Bill is a reasonable one and I cannot accede to Deputy O'Malley's amendment.