Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 18 Jun 1975

Vol. 81 No. 12

Racing Board and Racecourses (Amendment) Bill, 1975: Committee and Final Stages.

Sections 1 and 2 agreed to.

SECTION 3.

Question proposed: "That section 3 stand part of the Bill."

Mr. W. Ryan

It was our intention to put in an amendment to paragraph (b) but we decided not to do so. I should like to assure the Taoiseach that we do not begrudge the Racing Board 10 per cent if they require it, but we still think it is only right and proper that they should come back and tell us if they want an increase, what they want it for and what they did with the previous increase. It is strange that in the Bill we have not been told what this 1 per cent will be used for.

Today we have listened to a very wide range of problems concerning the horse industry. The reason I was fairly brief early on was that this was dealing with racing and that it did not involve horse breeding, show jumping and so on. Most Senators who spoke felt that the money provided by the extra 1 per cent would go to prize money. It might not go to prize money. How do we know but that it might go to pay the staff in the Racing Board? We might find ourselves in a year or two with the same prize money being given out at racecourses. If it was for nothing else but to give us an opportunity of discussing the horse racing industry, it would be a very good thing if this was to come before us now and again.

As the Taoiseach has said, this is only about the second occasion in years that we have had an opportunity of speaking on the horse industry. During my time in the House, we had only one opportunity and that was when Bord na gCapall were being established. We get the opportunity of discussing everything else concerning agriculture, because every year Bills of some kind come up concerning the dairying industry, tillage and so on. The horse industry is something that we have not had the opportunity of discussing for years. The result is that we have had a very long and interesting discussion on horse breeding today. That is the only reason we are not happy with allowing the Racing Board to increase the percentage to 10 per cent without coming back to us. I know the Taoiseach has said they will have to get the permission of the Minister for Finance but they can go to the Minister and give him a reason. He may or may not accept it. But if they came to us with a reason, there are 60 Senators here and we could ask different questions before we would consent to giving them the increase.

The Taoiseach

I can allay the Senator's unease on this. In fact the Racing Board, in anticipation of the Bill, have increased the stakes from 1st June by approximately £400,000. This increase has been so framed that it will give the maximum advantge in respect of the smaller races to try to bring them up to a reasonable level. Senators will appreciate that an increase in the maximum levy was announced, as far back as January, but because of the pressure of other Bills in the Dáil and Seanad, it was not possible to get the legislation through. All the increased revenue is going to the benefit of racing.

Mr. Killilea

I wish to refer to a point I made in my Second Stage statement. Could the Taoiseach assure us that it goes into stake money at the smaller meetings. I emphasise that, because there is no point in this 1 per cent being increased for major meetings like Punchestown and so on. What it is needed for is the little places like Sligo, Ballinrobe, Kilbeggan, Roscommon and Dundalk. It would be of great assistance if the Racing Board could confine it to those smaller places where sponsorship is very hard to get. As regards the headage payments scheme in the disadvantaged areas in the west of Ireland, I am sorry for bringing this point in here, but horses are in fact left out of it. There are a lot of horses in the Ballinrobe area, in south Mayo, in the parts of Roscommon, even up into Sligo and particularly Connemara. I am grateful to you, a Leas-Chathaoirleach, for the latitude to mention that horses are not accounted for in the headage payment scheme, a point which I forgot to raise at an earlier stage.

The Taoiseach

I will get that point looked into. I cannot answer it offhand. So far as the stakes are concerned, it is not confined to particular tracks but the main increase has been for the lower value races. They are not, strangely enough, all confined to the smaller tracks. Some of the larger tracks have at times relatively modest stakes as well. The ones that attract attention are the bigger ones, but in a variety of tracks around the country, although they have bigger races, there are also a lot of low value ones. The overall arrangement is to try and bring up the lower ones. You can readily understand that for many reasons—the size of the track and so on—you can only get a certain number of meetings in some of the tracks and obviously it has to be spread so that you get runners when races are held. The more runners there are the better it is for both the books and the tote.

Question put and agreed to.

Sections 4 to 10, inclusive, agreed to.

Title agreed.

Bill reported without amendment, received for final consideration and passed.