Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2017
533. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the recommendations of the report on the Irish greyhound industry by the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be implemented; the reason for the delay in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8223/17]
View answerBord na gCon is a commercial State body, established in 1958 under the Greyhound Industry act, 1958, chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry.
Bord na gCon has assured me that it continues to implement the recommendations made in the report of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine on the greyhound industry in January 2016. Indeed many of these recommendations were also made by Indecon with considerable progress made on those recommendations and more recently on the recommendations in the Morris report.
With regard to the report of the Joint Committee in particular and in line with its recommendations, Bord na gCon has informed me that the following developments have been carried out:
1. Three meetings of the National greyhound consultative forum held to date with the next meeting due in March this year.
2. Bord na gCon has secured three separate media contracts that generate €0.5m per annum thereby increasing Tote turnover.
3. Bord na gCon, on its website, offers regular updates in respect of re-homing, welfare and regulatory matters.
4. Prizemoney and racing supports have been increased by €1.4m in 2016.
5. Bord na gCon is currently investing in upgrading its laboratory testing infrastructure.
Additional recommendations will be addressed in new greyhound legislation which I will shortly be bringing to Government.
