O’Donoghue defends €300m racing fund

SPORTS Minister John O’Donoghue has defended a decision to give an extra €300 million to a hardship fund for the horse and greyhound racing - double the amount already allocated.

Mr O’Donoghue said without an additional €300 million in State money being poured into the fund, the industries would face “very severe financial difficulties” and 35,000 jobs would be under threat.

“Both industries would be forced immediately into reducing significantly their current levels of activity and I am convinced that their long-term viability would be precarious,” he said.

The Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund was set up in 2001 under legislation that required the State to hand over an annual sum of money equivalent to the revenue received by the Exchequer from tax on off-course betting.

The 2001 Act capped the total amount to be paid into the fund over time at €254m (£200m) but it also allowed for this amount to be varied in the future by joint order of the Minister in charge of racing and the Minister for Finance.

Former finance minister Charlie McCreevy signed the variation order with Mr O’Donoghue in one of his last acts before leaving the Government to take up his new post as European Commissioner.

Mr O’Donoghue received unanimous backing from the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Sport and Tourism yesterday when he told them the last of the €254m would be used up by the end of this year and it was necessary to provide a further €296m.

He said neither Horse Racing Ireland or Bord na gCon, the industry’s governing bodies, were in a position to generate enough income to replace the fund in the short term. But he expected their dependence on the fund to decrease.