Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2017
497. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason it costs the Irish Greyhound Board €1.8 million annually to carry out its testing procedures when the GBGB carries out its testing procedures for £300,000 sterling. [15347/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraBord na gCon 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.
This is an operational matter for Bord na gCon. I am advised that the €1.8M is the full expenditure on all racing matters in the areas of race regulations, welfare expenditure and laboratory expenditure.
The National Greyhound Laboratory operated to a total outlay of circa €400,000 in 2016 which included the following approximate costs:
- Laboratory Salaries €185k
- Repairs, renewals and supply of lab consumable €212k
- Collection of samples €65k
The annual sampling contract cost for GBGB is approximately Pounds Sterling £640,000 not including point of registration samples.
