Vol. 487 No. 8
7 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he has had discussions with the Department of Defence and the Irish Horseracing Authority regarding the purchase of Irish bred horses for the Army Equitation School. [5163/98]
I spoke to my colleague, the Minister for Defence, regarding the matter and detailed discussions between our Departments will follow in due course. I have also had discussions with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform regarding his proposals for a mounted police force and the use of Irish bred horses for that purpose.
When I was in the Department of Defence we looked at some innovative schemes with the Minister for Finance to encourage private individuals to lease or purchase horses for the Army Equitation School on a tax related basis which would allow the school to obtain high quality horses rather than it having to purchase them as it is very expensive. Will the Minister consider looking at those possibilities? Certain individuals may want to be associated with the Irish equitation team through sponsorship.
I will take this up with the Minister for Finance. I spoke to the Minister for Defence and he said there is a tremendous tradition in the Army Equitation School, from Dan Corry, a Corkman, in the 1930s to Billy Ringrose and Ned Campion who are household names. They promoted the image of the Irish horse internationally in a unique way. I support any innovation that will assist in getting better quality horses into the school at a young age. It is exasperating, even though it is of value to the country, to find Irish bred horses on other teams defeating Irish teams. We will go to all lengths possible, for the Army in particular, to seek to help the equitation school. I spoke to Dr. Noel Cawley of the Irish Horse Board and my colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr. McDaid, to see if the national lottery could help. When in office previously, I raised the matter of structural funding for the school, but every time the issue was taken up in Brussels it was turned down because a State Department was directly involved in it. We could not produce a formula which complied with European Commission regulations. Everything will be done to maintain a good source of quality Irish horses for the school.
The Minister referred to the possibility of getting horses for the Garda. It would be a shame if we had to go to Yorkshire. I was there a number of years ago and locals spoke about the need to come to Ireland for horses. Breeders and others involved should be encouraged to train horses to supply the needs of the country.
I spoke to the Minister for Justice on this issue. I asked why he had to go to another country for horses, of which we have plenty. He pointed out Irish horses were looked at but was informed by experts that it takes four years to train a horse for crowd control. There is a requirement for eight horses, the first four of which are already trained and then Irish horses will be trained subsequently. I suggested to him also that it might be a good idea to have horses and carriages for ceremonial occasions in Dublin. I recall at spring shows in the RDS the late Joe McGrath had a carriage and six white steeds, which were impressive. This would also promote the image of the Irish horse.
The Taoiseach could be brought around in one.
It could be used for the by-elections.
We might use one in this House.
I concede I am not as knowledgeable as the Minister about the horse industry but I recall the time when Inis Cara was a showjumper rather than a racehorse. As the Army Equitation School is undoubtedly a showcase for the horse industry — and I take on board his efforts to encourage the school to purchase Irish bred stock — is he satisfied sufficient top class stock is available and that there are enough incentives for breeders? A number of Leader groups offered incentives to promote the industry and part of the 1994-99 structural funding programme made grant-aid available in that regard. However, as we plan for the next programme will he try to put in place measure to give breeders the financial incentive to develop the industry further? He stated some of our best stock is exported but is there enough top quality stock in Ireland? What can be done to follow the German example where the quality of horse improved from a low base to world class in the space of ten or 15 years? Is that an angle to be looked at to increase the quantity of top class breeding stock available?
I accept the Deputy's remarks and over a number of years we lost some of the best blood lines and young horses in the country. We were left essentially with a small pool, primarily the King of Diamonds line. In recent years a great deal of progress has been made by the Irish Horse Board co-operative under the direction of Dr. Noel Cawley. Various incentives are given to retain blood lines, especially brood mare lines. I am encouraged by recent results, for example, in Lanaken, Belgium, for young showjumpers where our teams did well. Ireland has done relatively well in the Aga Khan Cup recently but the blood lines must be retained.
Inis Cara has done well in recent times as a racehorse and I missed out badly a few weeks when a nice price was offered. However, it was not for the want of good information in the corridors of Leinster House.
