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THE GOVERNMENT WILL examine proposals to create a new ‘humanitarian hub’ at Shannon Airport, which could see the facility become a centre for international aid.
A feasibility study has been commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs on the hub. Under the proposals, EU humanitarian supplies would be stored at the airport and dispatched from Shannon to destinations around the world in need of aid.
The Minister of State for Trade and Development, Jan O’Sullivan, confirmed last month that she had met airport management over the issue and said there was “considerable potential” for the development of Shannon.
Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey this morning welcomed the feasibility study, saying that Shannon is “perfectly placed” to become a “multi-million euro global logistics centre”. He continued:
I believe that it makes perfect sense to have a country such as ours as a base for EU humanitarian aid. As I understand it, currently much of that humanitarian aid is currently stored in Malaysia and I see no reason why it should not be stored in Europe, within closer proximity to its source.
International aid from the UN and other organisations, including Irish Aid, is stored at several large stockpiles worldwide. However, there is no current depot serving the Atlantic area.
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“In shock”? Really?
@Gerard Anthony McBride: Before Rte investigation this Greyhound cruelty was part and parcel of most people’s lives in the Greyhound racing The intrested partys who did not take part knew what was going on but kept their mouths shut Where were the Inspectors @ local dog trials were going on in rural farmland at any given evening all over the Country I hope we will see the end of this cruellest blood sport this Country has ever witnessed I would put this Greyhound blood sport along side with the Spanish bull fighting
@Gerard Anthony McBride: Greyhound racing is part of what we are. Generations of Irish people have had dogs. It’s been a great pastime for them.
@Ciaran O’Mara: Some traditions were very bad and this is one of them. The vast majority of the public are dog lovers and detest slaughtering thousands of dogs per year for subsidised “sport”
@Ciaran O’Mara: there’s a tradition of child abuse in Ireland too that doesn’t make it right though.
@John Legat: a tradition??? What the hell are you talking about?? Do you even know the meaning of the word??
@Ciaran O’Mara: You mean “part of who you are”. And those kinds of abstract don’t really mean much at the best of times — let alone when referring to an activity the majority of the population does not routinely (if ever) engage with.
@Ciaran O’Mara: A great night out.
@Ciaran O’Mara: tell it to the perfectly healthy, young dogs being shot, starved, or sent to China to be cooked alive, India to be raced to death, or to be breeding machines till they die.
@Alan Scott: And what would you put Hare coursing alongside?
@Owen Lynch: not if your a dog
I’m in shock that we still allow this cruel industry to exist. Very few countries allow it. We should be talking about banning it, not subsidizing it or promoting it in any way.
@David Bourke: bravo.
@David Bourke: should ban horse racing too.
@David Bourke’s: as will ye shut up ye big sap.
I wonder are Horse racing industry worried now. Bad horses shot, horses drugged to win, use of the ‘whip’.
@Philip Ryan: it’s only a matter of time
@James Wallace: hopefully.
@Philip Ryan: NO
Pity they didn’t state they were shocked after the cruelty in the sport was exposed by RTÉ
Ban it, shut down all greyhound tracks.
@Rochelle: no
@Rochelle: I hope it will happen sooner than later
Who in their right mind would promote a “sport” proven to kill and kill hundreds of dogs?? Who would want to see that?? IGB knew all along about the abuse but still took all the tax payers money the government doled out
@marianne ryan: It’s thousands of dogs they’re disposing of annually. Incredibly wasteful industry.
Next step should be banning this blood sport
@John Walsh: I am equally disgusted at what came out but to call it a “blood sport” is just nonsense.
@Craic_a_tower: And what would you call it A TEDDY BEAR PINIC?? Its a blood sport because of the cruelty it allowed when young inexperienced racing greyhounds were been trained away from the public eye mostly and everyone knew what was going on. I am disappointed on one aspect That the blood sport was not outlawed with the wildlife in fields and ditches all over Ireland would be in a much safer place.
@Alan Scott: not a blood sport no matter what you say or what you think. They use electric lures when racing which and the objective is not to kill.
Knock it off with your “shock”, get your industry under control, no reason why you can’t continue dog racing without the animal abuse, IGB can write the rules and standards to control this, get rid of the “owners” who are only interested in the money
@Eddie O’Neill: You will be getting rid of most dog owners if you remove those who are only interested in money.
Fan of the sport, despite the myriad of changes necessary, but how in the hell can they be surprised by this???
With approximately three thousand races horses retiring each year six thousand acres will need to be found so that they can enjoy a happy retirement, oh but horses can go in the food chain so that’s ok
@maurice healy: bit of a delicacy in France I believe.
The direct action outside Shelbourne Track worked.
Shane Ross deserves huge credit for telling the unvarnished truth about greyhound racing. This glorified dog-killing racket is unfit for promotion as a tourist attraction, just it is unfit to receive millions of Euro each year in State hand-outs. If the industry were as successful as its apologists claim it is, why does it need continuous massive injections of tax-payer’s money?
And if greyhound racing is for bad Ireland’s image, where does that leave hare coursing? It’s suspended right now on disease control grounds but coursing clubs are lobbying like mad to have their “right” to catch and terrorise hares restored, even if that means putting the survival of the entire species at risk.
A reminder of what this “pillar of the greyhound industry” involves: Hares are captured, held for weeks in grimy captivity before being set up as live bait for the dogs. They are mauled, tossed up into the air like broken dolls, crushed into the ground, and have their bones smashed…all for “sport” and the thrill of a flutter on the dogs. Fans cheer and guffaw as these fleet-footed animals perform for them in rain-soaked, wind-swept, muddy fields in the depths of winter.
Anyone committed to the safeguarding of our precious wildlife heritage will be alarmed at the outbreak in six counties to date of the deadly RHD2 virus is that is fatal to hares and rabbits. As a result of this appalling disease, the Heritage Minister last month suspended the license that permits the organised netting of hares in our countryside.
This means that for the first time in the history of the State hare coursing has been halted…though not for the reasons most of us campaigners would prefer.
The Minister, when she imposed the netting ban, rightly acknowledged that the disease could be “catastrophic” for the embattled Irish Hare, which is a sub-species of the Mountain Hare unique to Ireland.
It is frequently alluded to by conservationists as the flagship of Irish biodiversity. Even before the disease outbreak, this wonderful creature was under severe pressure from loss of habitat resulting from urbanization and the unintended effects of intensive modern agriculture.
Coursing practices would greatly increase the risk of the disease spreading: Coursing clubs use nets to catch the animals. They handle them casually and roughly, place them in little boxes (confinement that is totally unnatural and terrifying to them), transport them in vans or car boots to various locations and then pack them into compounds or paddocks where these normally solitary creatures find themselves in a cramped and unnatural environment: conditions ideal for the spreading of the disease.
Coursing clubs have been asserting in recent weeks that if they are permitted to resume capturing hares with nets for their fixtures they will vaccinate the hares they capture against the disease. Some politicians have backed them in this desperate ploy.
What they fail to mention, however, is that 1) the vaccine, called ‘Eravac’, which is licenced in Europe, is not available in Ireland and 2) more importantly, it cannot be applied to hares…just rabbits.
Aside from that, why should we entrust the wellbeing of Ireland’s hare population to people who have been using them as LIVE BAIT? People who mark their betting cards and holler with delight as these animals twist and turn and dodge on a coursing field? Hardly, any more than we’d condone the hiring of badger-baiting gangs to vaccinate badgers.
Following Minister Ross’s well justified slating of greyhound racing, I hope Minister Madigan take a similar view of coursing and make the hare capture ban PERMANENT. This iconic creature celebrated in Irish song, literature and folklore can run free in the countryside, untroubled by man’s inhumanity or the threat of a virulent disease that threatens its very survival as a species
I’m in shock that anyone would think that greyhound racing would be considered a big enough draw that people might want to take a flight to visit Ireland. It’s more of quiet Thursday activity to provide cover for drinking
Fantastic news but still some way to go. The fact that RTE still televised greyhound racing last week shows the disconnect in current thinking. Come on RTE. Get your sh!t together. I don’t pay taxes for animal abuse, and I don’t want my licence fee for sanitising it either.
@jamesdecay: RTE were tied into a contract. Will watch with interest to see if that is renewed now. I very much doubt it.
@jamesdecay: I know RTE did their very best to get out of it. They really didnt want to. They put no coverage of it on social media.
@Tinky Freeman: that really should be the last of it so
@jamesdecay: dog racing is great fun a great a bit of culture ya dry dog
@Cheryl Mellett: oh, I hadn’t realised they were locked into a contract and was calling them hypocrites. Even before their exposé I had contacted RTÉ to complain about the amount of seemingly free advertising they gave – there was a programme a while ago about getting people back into the workforce and they all seemed to be getting jobs in various areas of the greyhound ‘industry’. Have you any idea until when the contact runs?
Deeply shocked borderline angry in fact I couldn’t give a f u c k
Sorry IGB, the exploitation of animals for entertainment and profit is not, contrary to what you say, an entitlement.
This will surely backfire, more people will now attend the sport.
@Eugene Comaskey: I have to hear the logic of this comment…enlighten me please
@Eugene Comaskey: very much the opposite.
The less advertising they get the less people go see these cruel events.
As it is many greyhound tracks are financially in trouble and are struggling to keep going. This will help put a nail in the coffin of this cruel industry.
Oddly enough there was no shock or fury from the IGB or the greyhound fraternity about killing over 6000 unwanted greyhounds every year. The simple fact of it is that the industry cannot survive without having a large pool of dogs to draw from, to replace the ‘wastage ‘ dogs they kill. Hence, the over breeding of greyhounds every year will continue for as long as greyhound racing and coursing exist – and so will the killing. The new ‘care fund’ and the proposed ‘care centres ‘ are only intended for the racing/ex racing dogs. No mention of the ones that they kill because they’re ‘no good ‘. Greyhound racing and coursing is now, finally, exposed for the toxic business it has always been. Talk of traceability and accountability is totally meaningless. Being traceable or owners being ‘accountable ‘ won’t make greyhounds any less dead. I think it’s unlikely either system will be put in place any time soon anyway- it’s not in the industry’s interest to do so.
Ohmygod, number five on the left is my dog!! We got him from HUG last February :D He is a total couch potato now!
Will never darken their door again and like the FAI their funding should be pulled , Oh wait there might be an election soon !@
Thank you Minister Ross. Given that 99k have signed a petition worldwide to ban greyhound racing and the numbers are growing daily, I don’t understand how the IGB and the industry are shocked.
Shocked,, Really??? Get your house in order, then come back with the “shocked” comments. You have just made yourself look incredibly stupid.
Shocked is how the general public felt after seeing what goes on after the bright lights on a race night have gone out,, it was a very rare occasion that I went to the dogs, it’s highly likely I’ll never go again.
great news
They are absolutely delusional. The IGB and its cronies need to catch up with evolution. Most civilised countries don’t see the systematic use, abuse and slaughter of thousands of dogs as “sport” or “fun”. Well done to Shane Ross at least he has shown decency and mortality! Our government are a disgrace funding this cruelty with tax payers money. 16.8 million would make such a difference to the health service among other areas that are badly lacking! Stop the funding!
Interesting that there is no reference to the complaint by IGB to the Broadcast Authority about RTE’s programme. I think we should all wait the outcome of that complaint which may highlight which parts of the programme were fact and which parts were fictional
@Nigel Barlow: if the program even hot half its facts right it was utterly damning of the industry!
@Nigel Barlow: Everyone knows what happens to these dogs. Of course they’re going to complain sure they were exposed for what they are. Animal abusers and dog killers
@Nigel Barlow:
If anything the programme understated the levels of cruelty and neglect. The industry is in freefall. If the government doesn’t ban it, animal protection groups will succeed in taking it apart, week by week. It has no future, only a shameful and sickening past.
Fantastic move. Now we need to stop 17 million being thrown away on gambling and animal misery. Irish people are living on the streets, affordable housing is needed and that’s without considering the damage done to families by gambling at tracks. so many gentle dogs classed as ‘agricultural’ die and suffer due to the whims of these people who hang around the tracks.Making animal suffer for fun has had its day, close the tracks for good.
@Bernie Wright: well there is a good use for the abandoned tracks and the land that goes with them – use the to build social and affordable housing ! as a rough guess you’d get around 200 or so decent sized 3 bed houses on the average sized track and car park – at least some good would come of them !
pikachu_shockface.png
Good on you Shane Ross. About time that this cruel “sport” is seen for what it is
Another comment section hijacked by animal rights Taliban. Greyhound racing is a fantastic sport which indirectly helps support 11,000 Irish jobs.
Shane Ross is a disgrace
@Justin Colgan:
The industry “supports” nothing…it is propped up by taxpayer’s money and is a drain on the economy, and that’s apart from being utterly corrupt and dependent on high levels of extreme animal cruelty. It needs to be dismantled and scrapped.
I am shocked that they are shocked ! I have seen first hand the condition of so called retired greyhounds with their ears hacked off and in dire condition .
And I would not trust the Greyhound with the welfare of a flea let alone a greyhound. Who is going to monitor this supposed welfare or are they going to ship greyhounds to China to endure worse . Wake up Greyhound Board . We see through you
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