Greyhound Industry

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 March 2017

Thursday, 2 March 2017

Ceisteanna (314)

Kevin O'Keeffe

Ceist:

314. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if other options were explored before the Irish Greyhound Board took the decision to sell Harold’s Cross greyhound track; his views on whether the board took the easiest possible option, which was to sell the track; if the board had any less strategic or less used assets to sell other than Harold’s Cross; and if the board made any attempt to renegotiate its loan with a bank (details supplied). [11111/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Bord 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.

The Indecon Report identified a number of assets to be disposed of to reduce Bord na gCon's level of debt. Bord na gCon has already disposed of the old Henry Street Head Office in Limerick. The Harold’s Cross stadium is the most likely of the asset disposal to return sufficient funds to make a substantial contribution towards debt reduction by Bord na gCon.  

Other recommendations designed to improve BNG's financial performance, viz. calibration of races at underperforming tracks and the development of new products, such as co-mingling, were explored, but these measures on their own, were not sufficient to resolve the debt issue.

Bord na gCon has informed me that bank debt has been reduced by circa €2.0m between 2015 and 2016 and that they have recently entered negotiations with Allied Irish Bank to restructure the remaining loan facility.