I move:
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £10 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1965, for certain Miscellaneous Expenses, including certain Grants-in Aid.
This includes £5,000 towards the Olympic Games. There is already in the Book of Estimates, I should say, £5,000 for the expenses of the Olympic team but this is a new provision for the equestrian team. Up to this the equestrian team was always financed from the Vote for Defence because the Army riders were the contestants. This year it is a civilian team. Therefore, we feel we must make a contribution and this is calculated to be about one-third of what the sum required may be but it was agreed by the Committee that they would be able to look after the remainder of the expenses.
Another provision is a refund to Bord na gCon. I should take this opportunity of telling the Dáil that I have had various meetings with the Racing Board going back to the time the turnover tax came into operation. Some months before that the Racing Board had come to me and told me that they were moving into difficult times and would find it difficult to compete, especially against the English trainers and the English racers because the new provisions in England would put a great deal of money at the disposal of the operation there and, although they did not make any special request at that time, they warned me that they would probably be coming back to the Government to look for State aid.
Nothing happened until we brought in the turnover tax. They felt that by putting up the levy on the course betting and on the tote they would do more harm than good to the receipts and, therefore, they decided to pay the turnover tax out of their own resources. Subsequently, they came back to me some few months ago and said that they were now driven to the position where they would have to put up the levy on course betting and on the tote in order to finance their commitments. I said: "It appears you have reached the stage now where you will need this money for yourselves and I see no great point in collecting the turnover tax and handing it back to you in another way." Therefore, we made the agreement on the basis that as they needed the 2½ per cent on course betting and the 2½ per cent extra on the tote, they should be permitted to carry on and meet their own commitments. That being settled, Bord na gCon had always been told by me any time they came along that I was negotiating with the horseracing fraternity and that as soon as I concluded my negotiations with them, I would give Bord na gCon equally favourable treatment. That means the turnover tax collected from Bord na gCon has to be refunded to them, and that is the object of the Supplementary Estimate.
