Sinn Fein TD Eoin Ó Broin has questioned the Minister for Agriculture about the clearance of a €500,000 debt at privately-operated Clonmel greyhound track.
The Dublin Mid West TD who is Sinn Fein’s spokesperson for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, asked Minister Charlie McConalogue “if the €500,000 debt at [Clonmel] racetrack was cleared by Greyhound Racing Ireland and the terms and conditions for clearing this debt”.
Minister McConalogue who approved a €17.6 million grant to Greyhound Racing Ireland for 2022 did not provide the details. Instead, he told Deputy Ó Broin that “the question raised is an operational matter for RCÉ [Greyhound Racing Ireland] and, therefore, the question has been referred to the body for direct reply.”
The lack of details in Minister McConalogue’s response is surprising. In a Seanad speech in December, Fine Gael Senator Garret Ahearn – who is also a supporter of cruel hare coursing – revealed that Charlie McConalogue has been involved in “securing the future” of Clonmel track.
Addressing the Minister, Senator Ahearn stated: “I want to thank you for the work you have done on Clonmel greyhound track in supporting and securing the future of that track for the next number of years.”
Ahearn, a former mayor of Clonmel who has voted in favour of €184 million in government grants to horse and greyhound racing in the past two years, had previously called on Minister McConalogue to save Clonmel track. During a Seanad debate in November 2020, he asked: “Can [the Minister] give an indication that you would agree with me that the importance of greyhound tracks like Clonmel need to be protected, need to be supported, and that there needs to be real engagement between both sides to make sure there is a resolution and that Clonmel Greyhound track can be supported?”
Last month, Tipperary Live reported that the half million euro debt has been “removed” and that Clonmel Stadium – operated by Davis Road Greyhound Stadium Ltd (DRGS) – “have agreed a new lease with Greyhound Racing Ireland which will enable the facilities to be used for commercial activities and events, in addition to greyhound racing.”
The article quoted Senator Ahearn as saying: “Greyhound racing has been on the decline nationally the last number of years and it’s accepted that not every racecourse in the country will survive that decline. Fears have been there for some time that Clonmel was a racecourse under threat because of a disputed significant debt. Now, following the negotiations with Greyhound Racing Ireland, an agreement has been met which removes that debt and protects the long-term viability of the stadium.”
The Irish Examiner reported last year on “a disputed €510,000” between Clonmel track and GRI. That report highlighted “a complaint made to the [Public Account Committee] by former GRI board member Pat Creed, who resigned last December after a five-year term due to a dissatisfaction with the body’s accounts.”
“Mr Creed had called for statutory investigations from both the PAC and the Comptroller and Auditor General into alleged issues of corporate governance at the body, one of which relates to the aforementioned dispute, which stems from [Clonmel] stadium’s €2 million-budgeted redevelopment in 2013,” the Examiner report outlined. “GRI has listed that sum as a debt owed by DRGS, with Davis Road meanwhile expected to list GRI as a debtor for the €510,000 figure in its own 2019 accounts, which have yet to be published.”
A 2019 Indecon report commissioned by Greyhound Racing Ireland noted that attendance at Clonmel track – which has a capacity of 514 – fell every year between 2015 and 2019. Indecon conducted a survey of Irish greyhound breeders, owners and trainers and 81 per cent of those who attended Clonmel track most regularly believed that the financial viability of the stadium was either a significant challenge or a very significant challenge.
According to a 2018 statement issued by the Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation, Clonmel greyhound track was “on the verge of bankruptcy”. It noted that Greyhound Racing Ireland had “previously invested over €1 million in Clonmel [stadium]”, a decision it said “appeared to have been politically motivated”.
In 2015, it emerged that a massive interest-free loan had been given to Clonmel track by Greyhound Racing Ireland. The Sunday Business Post reported at the time that the amount handed over to the private company which operates the “loss-making greyhound track” in Clonmel was €250,000.
When the then Agriculture Minister Michael Creed was questioned about the loan, he cited “commercial sensitivity” and would not say how much, if any, had been paid back.
Many dogs suffer and die at Clonmel stadium. Since 2014 alone, at least 114 greyhounds have sustained injuries there and 37 died or were killed by a track vet. Among the victims was a 1-year-old greyhound who suffered a heart attack and died during a race. The greyhound collapsed at the finishing line and fell head-first to the ground https://youtu.be/EAX_ZeVgvIA?t=35s
At tracks around Ireland in the same period, 2,763 greyhounds suffered injuries and 938 died or were killed. Thousands more are killed every year away from tracks because they are not fast enough to win races.
ACTION ALERT
Don’t go greyhound racing or attend events at greyhound tracks. Please join us in urging the government to end the state funding that is keeping the dying greyhound “industry” afloat.
Since 2001, Greyhound Racing Ireland has been granted more than a QUARTER OF A BILLION EUROS, including €16.8 million for 2020, €19.2 million for 2021 and €17.6 million for 2022. This is unacceptable and must be stopped.
Please contact your local TDs and urge them to oppose this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33
Urge the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing
Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 4350
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
Leo Varadkar TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar
Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan
Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD
Alan Kelly TD
Leader, Labour Party
Tel: 067 34190
Email: alan.kelly@oir.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alankellytd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alankellylabour
“Stop state funding to cruel greyhound racing” – Email all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs.
Fianna Fáil TDs
john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie
Fine Gael TDs
JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie
Green Party TDs
Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie; ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie
Sinn Fein TDs
john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com
Labour Party TDs
sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie; ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie
Please sign and share the petitions
Stop supporting the cruel greyhound “industry”
https://www.change.org/p/stop-supporting-the-cruel-greyhound-industry
GAA: Stop club fundraisers at greyhound tracks
https://www.change.org/p/gaa-stop-club-fundraisers-at-greyhound-tracks
Tell Gain Pet Nutrition to Stop Sponsoring Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/jimtracy-glanbia-ie-tell-gain-pet-nutrition-to-stop-sponsoring-greyhound-racing
Watch RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM
DAIL QUESTION AND ANSWER
For Written Answer on : 15/02/2022
Eoin Ó Broin TD: To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Food and the Marine if the €500,000 debt at a racetrack (details supplied) was cleared by Greyhound Racing Ireland; and the terms and conditions for clearing this debt. (Details Supplied) Clonmel racetrack
REPLY
Minister Charlie McConalogue: Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The question raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for RCÉ and, therefore, the question has been referred to the body for direct reply.