POLITICAL FOCUS: Minister of State with Responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe, TD (Fine Gael, Wexford) - Voted against a proposed ban on cruel hare coursing. Voted against the ban on carted deer hunting. Voted in favour of €248 million in funding for horse and greyhound racing, described a loss-making greyhound track as “a very successful track”...
In June 2016, Paul Kehoe was among the 114 TDs who voted against Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan’s bill which sought to ban cruel hare coursing.
In 2016, 2018 and 2019, voted in favour of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations which granted €80 million/€84 million/€84 million of taxpayers’ money to horse and greyhound racing.
More than three hundred people attended the public meeting in Enniscorthy track on Monday night to prevent the closure of the track. Minister Paul Kehoe told the attendance, “I don’t trust the IGB [Irish Greyhound Board] board as far as I’d throw them,,,The IGB are going to spend 1 million euro on Kilkenny, a track that is losing money…They are trying to get rid of private tracks and it infuriates me that Enniscorthy did not get a fair hearing…I have no problem asking every board member of the IGB to resign as they are an absolute disgrace” Minister Paul Kehoe, WexfordToday.com, December 17, 2019
“A very successful track”: That’s Paul Kehoe TD farcically described a loss-making greyhound track that has seen major falls in attendance over the past four years, and which has been rated as “poor or very poor”. Deputy Kehoe made the ridiculous comment about Enniscorthy greyhound track during an interview for Newstalk’s The Hard Shoulder programme yesterday (18 Dec 2019). Listen to an extract from the programme at https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/videos/533366990673053
"On November 14, 2015, four dogs trained by [Graham] Holland tested positive for [banned substance] pentobarbital at the Shelbourne Park stadium. These included Ballydoyle Honey, a champion honoured by the Irish Greyhound Board in April as Bitch of the Year. In November [2016], Paul Kehoe, the minister for defence, presented Holland with an accolade from the Irish Greyhound Review as its personality of the year..." Sunday Times 1st January 2017. In 2017, a greyhound trained by Holland tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine.
Paul Kehoe voted AGAINST the staghunt ban in June 2010.
“Paul has an interest in…horse racing.” from Paul Kehoe’s website.
“Minister of State with Responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe TD is so shocked and horrified by so-far unsubstantiated allegations concerning the operations of the Greyhound Racing Board he has demanded an urgent meeting with the Board’s Chairman, Phil Meeney and its acting Chief Executive. In a statement issued late last night, Minister Kehoe said he had just completed a series of private meetings with representative delegations and individuals concerning the alleged manner in which the Board’s business is being conducted and as a result of which he is left with no alternative but to put the allegations to the Board’s top executives…The alleged allegations are so serious, he added, the entire future of the greyhound racing industry is at risk and as it is if such importance to the economy, particularly here in County Wexford, he was left with no alternative but to seek an immediate meeting with the Board’s Chairman and its acting Chief Executive in order to put the alleged allegations to them.” from a 6th March 2017 statement from Paul Kehoe TD.
“Taoiseach Brian Cowen reminded every TD of their responsibility. Mr McGrath and Mr O’Sullivan still abstained. A peace process began with the rebels. Their abstention provoked Fine Gael’s whip Paul Kehoe to up the ante. He withdrew an agreement to keep two of his TDs back to cancel out two sick men – Sean Ardagh and Noel Treacy…” Irish Examiner Wednesday, June 30, 2010.
Find out the views of other TDs at
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2019/12/11/tds-and-animal-cruelty-issues/
ACTION ALERT
Complain to Paul Kehoe TD about his shameful stance. Ask him to support future legislation aiming to ban foxhunting, hare coursing, greyhound racing, terrierwork, etc
Phone: 045492000
Email: paul.kehoe@oir.ie
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PaulKehoeTD
Twitter https://twitter.com/campaign4kehoe
Never support election candidates who support animal cruelty.
Please contact all your local politicians to demand a ban on hare coursing, foxhunting, digging-out, terrierwork, greyhound racing and all forms of cruelty to animals.
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.
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
Ireland - Ban cruel hare coursing
www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing