While Kilkenny greyhound track celebrates a ONE MILLION EURO hand-out from the taxpayer-funded Irish Greyhound Board, a local hospital is being forced to continue waiting for funding for a LIFE-SAVING MRI SCANNER.
The headline on the front page of last week's Kilkenny People was: "Two years after funds raised, Kilkenny asks: 'Where is our MRI, Minister?'"
The report outlines that "after much hard work and fundraising, including help from the community, the Friends of St Luke's Hospital finally reached their target of €250,000 to help fund [an MRI scanner]". However, despite the HSE agreeing to provide the remainder needed to purchase the scanner and the Minister for Health Simon Harris (Fine Gael/Wicklow) visiting the hospital in July to announce he would release the outstanding funds, the hospital is still waiting.
Chairman of the Friends of St Luke's fundraising team Declan McCann is quoted in the Kilkenny People as saying: “Minister Harris came down here in July and in public said this was going ahead. He said the figures would have to be rechecked, but then they would go to tender and expect to have shovel to ground by February, with a four-to-six month build. But now there is a delay. What’s causing the delay?”
The paper reports that "there has been no explanation as to why its delivery has been delayed [and] now there are doubts over whether an MRI for St Luke’s is being regarded as a priority."
In stark contrast, the privately-operated Kilkenny greyhound track - a gambling venue where dogs suffer painful injuries and die - had little problem securing its €1,000,000 in funding. In August, the Kilkenny People broke the news about the "€1 million boost" for the track.
The report revealed that "Kilkenny Greyhound track is to receive a grant of €1 million from Bord na gCon (The Irish Greyhound Board). The investment is included in the body's five year strategic plan and was signed off on this week by the board and outgoing chairman of Bord na gCon, Phil Meaney from Carlow. The Chairman of Kilkenny Greyhound Track, Mr Pat Loughlin, welcomed the news and said the investment was a major boost to the local economy and was a vote of confidence in the greyhound industry around the city and county and the track operators." An accompanying photo featured greyhound industry representatives at Kilkenny track alongside another Fine Gael politician - greyhound racing supporter (and co-owner of greyhound Swift Starlet) Phil Hogan, the current European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development and a former TD in the local constituency.
Over the past three and a half years at Kilkenny track, 37 greyhounds suffered injuries and 13 died or were killed by a track vet. In the same period at tracks around Ireland, 1,369 greyhounds were injured and 438 killed.
Among those expressing concerns about the €1 million hand-out to Kilkenny track was Greyhound Rescue Association Ireland. In a statement in August, the group outlined that a "significant amount of rescues [dogs] surrendered in the area are greyhounds" and that two Kilkenny rescue groups - PAWS Rescue and Greyhounds in Need - are both forced to take in an average of 100 greyhounds every year.
The Greyhound Breeders Federation also questioned the grant, stating "The IGB have previously invested over €1 million in Clonmel, 45 minutes away from Kilkenny. The decision at the time appeared to have been politically motivated and Clonmel track is now on the verge of bankruptcy."
As previously reported by ICABS, the cash injection into Kilkenny track is part of a €6 million track renovation plan announced by the Irish Greyhound Board. It has money to spend after receiving another €16 million this year from the government as well as a payment of €23 million from the Department of Education for Harold's Cross stadium - a track said to be worth less than half of that.
Money is being ploughed into stadiums despite figures showing that the Irish public is increasingly rejecting greyhound racing.
Track attendance fell in 2017 by 122,368 to 514,546 - the lowest level since records began - and the average attendance at race meetings dropped from 380 to 329. That's despite the marketing and promotion budget being increased to €1.7 million. Attendance has been steadily falling over the past decade. Since 2007, when attendance was 1.12 million, the number of people going to greyhound races has slumped by 54 per cent.
This is almost certainly linked to a growing awareness among the Irish public about the doping of dogs (to affect the outcomes of races) and the injury and death of greyhounds.
The situation in Kilkenny mirrors a similar one in Mullingar where the local track has been promised €100,000 to pay for renovations to a track-side restaurant - while a fundraising team at Mullingar General Hospital are short €100,000 in their long-running campaign to raise €950,000 to purchase an MRI scanner for adults and children.
Health Minister Simon Harris is among the politicians who last December voted in favour of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations which granted €80 million to horse and greyhound racing (€64 million and €16 million respectively). The previous year, the government approved another €80 million of taxpayers' money to horse and greyhound racing - Minister Harris voted in favour of that funding too. Since 2001, over a billion euros has been handed out by the government to horse and dog racing.
All of the Carlow-Kilkenny TDs - with the exception of Sinn Fein's Kathleen Funchion - have voted in favour of this horse and greyhound racing funding. Those TDs are Fianna Fail's Bobby Aylward and John McGuinness and Fine Gael's Patrick Deering and John Paul Phelan.
ACTION ALERT
Don't attend greyhound races or fundraisers/hen parties/office parties held at greyhound tracks.
The greyhound industry has received nearly a quarter of a billion euros of taxpayers' money since 2001 (including €16 million for 2018 and another €16.8 million for 2019). Urge Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to stop the funding and instead direct the money to health groups, charities, sports clubs, animal rescue centres and other deserving causes. Email "Stop funding the cruel greyhound industry" to taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie, paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie, minister@per.gov.ie
An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar
Department of the Taoiseach,
Government Buildings,
Upper Merrion St, Dublin 2
Telephone: +353 (0)1-6194020
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie, finegael@finegael.ie
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Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie, minister@per.gov.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1 6045810
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Urge Health Minister Simon Harris to stop voting in favour of funding to horse and dog racing, while hospital cry out for vital equipment.
Minister Simon Harris TD
Department of Health
Block 1, Miesian Plaza,
50 – 58 Lower Baggot Street,
Dublin, D02 XW14
Tel: 01 635 4000
Email: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie;ministersoffice@health.gov.ie
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Ask Carlow-Kilkenny TDs why they are supporting millions in funding to horse and greyhound racing, while a hospital in their constituency is being forced to wait for a life-saving MRI scanner.
Bobby Aylward TD
Email Bobby.Aylward@oireachtas.ie
Tweet to @bobby_aylward
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Bobby-Aylward/100009239829823
John McGuinness TD
Email john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie
Tel: 056-7770672 or 087 2855834
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Patrick Deering TD
Email Pat.Deering@oireachtas.ie
Tel : 059 9164680 or 087 9470736
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John Paul Phelan TD
Email JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie
Tel: 056-7793210
Tweet to @JPPhelan
Facebook https://facebook.com/carlowkilkenny