Dept of Agriculture boss backs spending public money on horse and greyhound prizes

The State has paid out over €1.6bn to horse and greyhound racing via the horse and greyhound fund, which was set in legislation in 2001. File picture: Inpho/Presseye/Russell Pritchard

The head of the Department of Agriculture has said “he accepts the proposition” that spending public money on horse and greyhound racing prizes “is a good thing”.

Brendan Gleeson, the secretary-general of the department, told the Public Accounts Committee that “by and large” the contribution of the two sports to the economy was growing and investors who choose to operate within the infrastructure of Irish horseracing “could be in France, they could be anywhere”.