BREAKING NEWS: The Social Democrats’ motion seeking to end government funding to cruel greyhound racing has been “neutralised” in Dail Eireann this evening (25 November 2020).
The motion presented in the Dail this morning by Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns sought to reverse an announced €2.4 million increase in funding to greyhound racing (bringing the total for 2021 to €19.2m) and phase out the state funding entirely.
However, a government countermotion, in the name of the Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue - was carried after 33 Fine Gael TDs, 33 Fianna Fail TDs and all 12 Green Party TDs backed it.
The "Amendment 1" countermotion included the text: “the proposed allocation from the Horse and Greyhound Fund is set to increase from €16.8 million to €19.2 million in 2021 and this increase is necessary to take account of the severe impact of Covid-19 on the sport and industry, and also to maintain the ongoing level of activity”
The government’s amendment was earlier criticised by pro-greyhound racing Labour Party TD Sean Sherlock as “a cut-and-paste job based on a Rásaíocht Con Éireann (Greyhound Racing Ireland) briefing note”. He complained that the amendment “does nothing for the sustainability of the greyhound sector” and emphasised that "the Labour Party does not support the removal of State funding for greyhound racing at this time".
While Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Green Party TDs, along with TDs from the Regional, Rural Independent and Independent Groups backed the countermotion, it was opposed by 57 other TDs.
Thanks to these 36 Sinn Fein TDs, 6 Labour Party TDs, 5 Social Democrats TDs, 5 Solidarity-People Before Profit TDs, 2 TDs from the Regional Group and 3 from the Independent Group.
Reacting to the vote result, the Social Democrats tweeted: “Unfortunately the government amendment to neutralise our motion to #DefundGreyhoundRacing passed...so we'll have to fight on.”
A big thank you and well done to Holly Cairns TD and her Social Democrats colleagues in the Dail for preparing and presenting the bill and to all the TDs who spoke so well in its favour in the Dail today.
The government’s move ensures that cruel, dog-killing greyhound racing will, in 2021, be gifted another €19.2 million of taxpayers’ money (that’s the equivalent of €369,230 for every week of the year). The TDs who backed the countermotion dismissed the views of the two-thirds majority of citizens who want the funding stopped. They ignored petitions with more than 400,000 signatures. And worst of all, they disregarded the fact that greyhound racing is inherently cruel - based on over-breeding greyhounds, choosing the fastest ones and getting rid of the rest (including shooting them in the head). Their disgraceful decision to continue propping up this cruel and dying activity means many more dogs will suffer and die.
Watch today’s Dail debate
https://youtu.be/_Z9vNQ8JtQ4
Read a transcript of the debate
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2020-11-25/2/
Find out more about the Social Democrats
https://www.socialdemocrats.ie/
Please sign and share these other petitions
Stop handing over public money to the greyhound racing industry
https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/governments-going-to-the-dogs-give-to-the-services-in-need
Nearly 6,000 Greyhounds Were Killed Here Because They Were "Too Slow"
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/184/794/470/?TAP=1732
"Stop Greyhound Racing"
https://www.change.org/p/the-department-of-agriculture-stop-greyhound-racing
Irish Government grants to greyhound racing
2001 €11,777,583
2002 €13,613,163
2003 €12,837,200
2004 €13,382,800
2005 €13,670,000
2006 €14,012,000
2007 €14,572,000
2008 €15,257,000
2009 €13,625,600
2010 €11,852,800
2011 €11,460,000
2012 €11,258,000
2013 €11,004,000
2014 €10,844,000
2015 €13,600,000
2016 €14,800,000
2017 €16,000,000
2018 €16,000,000
2019 €16,800,000
2020 €16,800,000
2021 €19,200,000
Total: €292 Million (€0.292 Billion)
Source: Department of Agriculture