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AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of the Dáil this evening approved a €4.1 million increase in funding for horse and greyhound racing, bringing the total funding for both industries close to €100 million.
A total of €79.3 million in funding will be allocated to the horse racing industry while €19.8 million will be provided to the dog racing industry under measures announced as part of Budget 2025.
The funding was approved by 109 TDs who voted in favour of the bill, while just 19 TDs voted against. No TD abstained.
TDs shared a variety of views during a debate in the Dáil yesterday. Some expressed anger over the funding boost, arguing not enough was being fairly allocated towards animal welfare, while others argued it was an integral part of Irish culture.
During the debate, government and other opposition TDs, including members of Sinn Féin and Labour’s Alan Kelly, supported the case for additional funding.
Meanwhile, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns and People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy railed against the scale of government funding being provided to the industry.
Junior minister in the Department of Agriculture Martin Heydon said the greyhound racing industry is “an integral part of the social fabric of our country”.
He said the horse and greyhound racing industries indirectly supports up to 30,000 jobs and 4,000 jobs respectively. Heydon argued the funding would assist with that employment as well as add to a well-established tradition.
Heydon’s opinion differed slightly to the views of his cabinet colleague, junior minister in the Department of Sport, Thomas Byrne who last week said greyhound racing is an industry “not a sport”.
Byrne remarked that he believe the event was not as popular as it once was, but was more keen to argue in favour of better investment for his department, sport, rather than discussing whether or not funding to the industry should be cut.
In comparison, Budget 2025 saw €30 million allocated to national sport governing bodies and local sports partnerships – over €60 million less than what was allocated to the racing industries.
Byrne voted in favour of the funding this evening.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, who has voiced his opposition to the massive funding packages signed off on by the Government in the past, said this comment was “bizarre” yesterday.
“The comparison is that in reality, while they throw money at the horse and greyhound racing industry, they give a fraction of that to all of the actual sports in this country,” Murphy said.
“Ireland is one of only seven countries where greyhound racing remains legal,” Murphy said, adding that it is an “absolute scandal” to continue the scale of funding.
Includes reporting by Jane Matthews
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Nationwide network of these cycle paths now taking shape nicely.
With a bit of marketing and advertising abroad, in no time the place will be swarming with Northern Europeans who love a bit of a peddle.
Should be good news for pubs, shops, restaurants and B & Bs along the way.
Well done Leo Varadkar!
Yeah, this looks brilliant!
Our entire west coast should be a maze of walking and cycling tracks! It’s a prospect that would genuinely make a huge difference to their economies! Best if the development of bars, restaurants and guest houses are kept small scale, get the real economy ticking over!
Bring it on. Can’t wait to test cycle this once it’s ready.
This country gets better and better. More in there line to cut the briars before they cut the eyes out of my head!!
A cycle route from Donegal to Cork hugging the coast as best as possible would bring a massive boom.
You need relatively flat terrain for a Greenway, unless you’re a seriously fit cyclist. Coastal roads are full of steep inclines and declines.
No you don’t! Nobody is suggesting your average cyclist is going to travel the full coast but it would certainly be a huge asset to local tourism!
Agree with Ted – and besides you keep it on a nice gradient easily. Also people want to see nice scenery – not flat bogland for miles to see.
it’ll give a wheel cyclelogical boost to those who need it most
The nimbies will want it to be put underground
Actually, this seems like one thing that people mightn’t object to living beside.
Irish cycle way … Can they at least put a roof on it?
Don’t encourage any more clutcheez in Dublin. We have too many already!
I will definitely be giving it a go. Will be hoping not to be mugged before I reach section 3 though.
Finish the bloody motorway network before you go wasting money on people’s hobbies!!
Good for tourism and great for cyclists stop moaning
Scrap the motorway programme. Oversized waste of scarce money
More in their line to bypass adare or an outer ring of dublin to avoid the M50 or widen the M7 down as far as the M9 merge!
I don’t think it should be scrapped, but it was very poorly designed, such that we now need far more kilometres of motorway than necessary. Having three motorways heading south, practically parallel for much of the way is lunacy.
More roads mean more cars mea more traffic america has prove this time and again
Yeah scrap the motorways.Be fun wont it when your tofu and other green fodder arrives by bicycle or ass and cart…Or do you all expect us all to live in Mega city Dublin??
Motorways in Ireland is like a baby getting its first solid food.
Chatting to a tourist today and the countryside is what grabbed him, cycling is a great way to see the country and the tourist spend is a very democratic spend in local, shops, pubs and B&Bs which are best placed to benefit. Between cycling and hiking there is a big untapped market.
This is one thing the authorities are getting right. The infrastructure is not costing a huge amount. Thanks to the Brits we have a maze of old train lines and canals throughout the country that can be used to create walk and cycle ways. With a push for everyone to get active it has many benefits. With a huge demographic retiring or retired looking for an active and healthy hobby a lot of tourists can be attracted. No reason why we shouldn’t match NZ as an outdoor activity country – walking, hiking, cycling, sea kayaking, etc. The Spanish have done extremely well out of the camino in Spain and others are following suit.
Hope its not the way the motorways were built with land speculation and the like, a meandering path depending on who owns the land and how much councillors received as backhanders.
What we now need is for Irish rail to improve the service for cyclists. There is now way for small groups to use the trains to transport bikes (unless I’m mistaken?)
Along the Esker Riada – best way of all.
I live by the completed ashtown section. It’s a great job. If it cost 1.7m however the next section to the Kildare border will be massive money, terrain is far worse with the train immediately to one side and the canal dug down into the rock to the other. Still fair play on what’s done so far.
I’m aiming or cycle the old n4-6 this September cycle way would great
have your say