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Greyhound Industry

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2020

Tuesday, 3 November 2020

Questions (1480)

Patrick Costello

Question:

1480. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the breakdown of the recent announcement of €2.4 million allocated to the greyhound industry. [33589/20]

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Written answers

Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

An extra €2.4 m allocation was announced in the Budget which brings the total allocation to €19.2m from the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund (the Fund) for 2021 for the greyhound sector. I believe that it is crucial that jobs in the industry are supported and that this funding is vital due to the impact of Covid-19 and the losses incurred by all greyhound tracks.

My Department has ring fenced 10% of the Fund allocation to RCÉ in 2020 for welfare initiatives, and will implement similar criteria for funding in 2021. A major expansion of the overall care and welfare programme in RCÉ is progress. RCÉ has introduced a range of care and welfare initiatives which include the following measures;

- The progression of the provisions of the Greyhound Racing Act 2019 to devise a traceability model to enable tracing of racing greyhounds throughout their lives.

- Incentivising rehoming of greyhounds in Ireland through additional supports through the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust, (established and operated by RCÉ).

- The establishment of a separate “Greyhound Care Fund” and the opening of Care Centres for retired greyhounds while they await rehomimg.

Animal welfare issues are central to this Department’s engagements with the greyhound sector and funding is contingent on welfare measures being implemented.

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