Massive government grants to greyhound and horse racing industries

Massive government grants to greyhound and horse racing industries
14 December 2016

Another massive grant to the horse and greyhound industries has shamefully been approved. A majority of 105 TDs voted in favour of giving €16 million euro to the greyhound industry and €64 million to horse racing, bringing the total received since 2001 to over a billion euro.

Click on the links to watch the individual TD speeches.

"The idea of giving taxpayers' money to Bord na gCon, an organisation which oversees the barbarism of hare coursing, is absolutely abhorrent." Clare Daly TD, one of the politicians who this week spoke out against another massive government pay-out of taxpayers' money to the Irish Greyhound Board and Horse Racing Ireland.

Despite opposition from 39 TDs, the shameful €80 million grant was approved.

Hare coursers and foxhunters benefit from these grants of public funds.

As highlighted last year, the Irish Coursing Club was paid more than €100,000 by the Irish Greyhound Board. The bulk of the money made its way to coursers via advertising in the Sporting Press - the Irish Coursing Club's "greyhound and coursing newspaper". Point-to-point racing, run by foxhunting clubs, last year received more than a million euro from Horse Racing Ireland. Point-to-point racing is a major fundraiser for foxhunt groups.

Watch the debate or read a transcript at
https://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2016-12-14a.5

HOW TDS VOTED

Voted IN FAVOUR of €80 million pay-out to greyhound racing and horse racing

Bobby Aylward
Maria Bailey
Seán Barrett
John Brassil
Declan Breathnach
Pat Breen
Colm Brophy
James Browne
Richard Bruton
Peter Burke
Joan Burton
Mary Butler
Catherine Byrne
Thomas Byrne
Jackie Cahill
Dara Calleary
Seán Canney
Ciarán Cannon
Joe Carey
Pat Casey
Shane Cassells
Jack Chambers
Lisa Chambers
Michael Collins
Niall Collins
Marcella Corcoran Kennedy
Simon Coveney
Barry Cowen
John Curran
Michael D'Arcy
Jim Daly
John Deasy
Pat Deering
Regina Doherty
Paschal Donohoe
Timmy Dooley
Andrew Doyle
Bernard Durkan
Damien English
Alan Farrell
Frances Fitzgerald
Michael Fitzmaurice
Peter Fitzpatrick
Charles Flanagan
Seán Fleming
Noel Grealish
Brendan Griffin
John Halligan
Simon Harris
Seán Haughey
Séamus Healy
Martin Heydon
Brendan Howlin
Heather Humphreys
Paul Kehoe
Billy Kelleher
Seán Kyne
John Lahart
James Lawless
Michael Lowry
Marc MacSharry
Charlie McConalogue
Helen McEntee
Finian McGrath
Mattie McGrath
Michael McGrath
John McGuinness
Joe McHugh
Tony McLoughlin
Josepha Madigan
Micheál Martin
Mary Mitchell O'Connor
Kevin Moran
Aindrias Moynihan
Margaret Murphy O'Mahony
Eoghan Murphy
Eugene Murphy
Denis Naughten
Hildegarde Naughton
Tom Neville
Michael Noonan
Éamon Ó Cuív
Darragh O'Brien
Jim O'Callaghan
Kate O'Connell
Willie O'Dea
Patrick O'Donovan
Fergus O'Dowd
Kevin O'Keeffe
Fiona O'Loughlin
Frank O'Rourke
Jan O'Sullivan
Willie Penrose
John Paul Phelan
Anne Rabbitte
Michael Ring
Noel Rock
Shane Ross
Brendan Ryan
Eamon Scanlon
Seán Sherlock
Brendan Smith
David Stanton
Leo Varadkar
Katherine Zappone

Voted AGAINST €80 million pay-out to greyhound racing and horse racing

Gerry Adams
Mick Barry
Richard Boyd Barrett
John Brady
Tommy Broughan
Pat Buckley
Joan Collins
Catherine Connolly
Ruth Coppinger
Seán Crowe
Clare Daly
Pearse Doherty
Dessie Ellis
Martin Ferris
Kathleen Funchion
Gino Kenny
Martin Kenny
Mary Lou McDonald
Catherine Martin
Denise Mitchell
Imelda Munster
Catherine Murphy
Paul Murphy
Carol Nolan
Eoin Ó Broin
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Jonathan O'Brien
Louise O'Reilly
Maureen O'Sullivan
Thomas Pringle
Maurice Quinlivan
Eamon Ryan
Róisín Shortall
Bríd Smith
Brian Stanley
Peadar Tóibín
Mick Wallace

ACTION ALERT

Contact your TDs and urge them to stop using scarce public money to fund gambling industries.

Visit the Oireachtas website for names of TDs and their email addresses http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=32&disp=mem Write to your TDs at: Dail Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: +353 (0)1-618 3000 or 1890 337 889. Please also arrange a meeting with your TDs at their local clinics.

Don't attend greyhound races or community fund-raisers held at greyhound tracks (these are a significant source of funding for the cruel greyhound industry).

Greyhound racing should not be funded by the people of Ireland, the majority of whom have no interest in it and are rightly opposed to an industry in which dogs are injured, dumped and killed. Please join us in urging the government to stop wasting precious funds on this dying industry.

Michael Noonan
Minister for Finance
Email: michael.noonan@oireachtas.ie
CC: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie,michael.creed@oir.ie,andrew.doyle@oireachtas.ie
(Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Agriculture Minister Michael Creed, Minister of State Andrew Doyle)
Telephone: +353 (0)1-6764735

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny
Department of the Taoiseach,
Government Buildings,
Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2
Telephone: +353 (0)1-6194020
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie
Tweet to @EndaKennyTD

Michael Creed TD
Minister for Agriculture
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email: michael.creed@oir.ie
Tel: +353 (0)1-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510.
Fax: +353 (0)1-661 1013.
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelcreedtd
Tweet to @creedcnw

Andrew Doyle TD
Minister of State, Dept of Agriculture
Email: andrew.doyle@oireachtas.ie
Tweet to @ADoyleTD

Please sign and share the petitions
Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Industry
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-industry

Stop sponsoring cruel greyhound racing
https://www.change.org/p/stop-sponsoring-cruel-greyhound-racing

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