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Taxpayer-funded Horse Racing Ireland has shamefully paid out €1.6 million more in funding to cruel hunts around Ireland.
Sickening figures obtained by Paul Murphy TD show that in 2023, HRI doled out €800,000 in "point-to-point" grants to the hunts, plus an additional €800,000 for prizemoney.
Point-to-points are horse races organised by hunt clubs. They are a significant source of income for hunts and effectively prop up their bloodsport activities. Without the Horse Racing Ireland grants, race events would not be viable and this would likely lead to the demise of many hunts.
The latest €1,600,000 in funding is even greater than the massive hand-out of €1,528,200 in 2022.
It brings to more than €12 million the amount paid out by HRI in point-to-point racing grants in the past ten years. The cash injection into the coffers of 66 hunts around Ireland is helping to sustain fox hunting, one of Ireland's worst forms of cruelty to animals.
The details obtained by Deputy Paul Murphy (Solidarity - People Before Profit) show that the money paid out to hunts included around €6 million in grants for race prize money.
Horse Racing Ireland - a body which has to-date received more than €1.3 Billion of taxpayers' money in the form of government grants – shamefully continues to give financial support to fox hunts despite majority support in Ireland for a ban on the cruel bloodsport.
A breakdown of the 2023 figure is not yet available but the 2014 to 2022 HRI figures reveal the level of financial support given to individual hunts for point-to-point racing events.
Two hunts received more than half a million euros (United fox hunt - €699,700 and Duhallow fox hunt - €633,200) and five others received more than a quarter of a million euros (Muskerry €331,900, West Waterford €328,700, North Down €302,000, East Antrim €268,400 and Tipperary hunt €253,200).
Another 14 hunts received €200,000 or more, 24 others have received between 100,000 and 199,000 and 21 received up to 100,000.
The grants from Irish taxpayer-funded Horse Racing Ireland are not only benefiting hunts in the Republic but also, incredibly, hunts in Northern Ireland. They have been paid over €1.5 million between 2014 and 2022.
Among the hunts in the North supported by Horse Racing Ireland in that period were North Down (€302,000), East Antrim (€268,400), East Down (€201,200), Fermanagh (€200,000), Mid Antrim (€198,900), County Down (€150,200), Tynan & Armagh (€102,200), Newry (€84,700) and Oriel hunt (€3,300).
Please scroll down for full list of hunts and amounts. Download the HRI document from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ttq-3ZYd_8qMLZvSRHVPtnxgvWkMzKJG/view
In a 5 March 2024 Dail Question to Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue, Deputy Murphy asked if he will stop the funding “given that the money is propping up hunt clubs which are involved in bloodsports which the majority of people want banned.” The Minister referred the question to HRI.
HRI's shameful response was that it “will continue to support point-to-point racing through the provision of prizemoney and administrative grant aid.”
What an outrage that public funds – through government grants to Horse Racing Ireland – are making their way into the hands of fox hunters. In allowing this, the government is disregarding the views of the majority who want fox hunting banned. A RED C poll found that 77 per cent want a ban on foxhunting, while just 12 per cent disagree with a ban. A majority in both rural and urban areas favour a ban.
Instead of giving financial support to fox hunts, the government should be outlawing this deplorable activity which causes horrendous suffering and death.
In fox hunting, foxes are chased to exhaustion by a pack of hounds. When caught, the foxes are knocked to the ground, bitten, disembowelled and pulled apart. Foxes who try to find refuge underground are pursued by hunt terriers, dug out of the ground and brutally killed.
As highlighted by ICABS in the past, fox hunts also receive money to cover the costs of doctors at point-to-points.
In 2017, then TD Clare Daly asked the then Agriculture Minister Michael Creed about “his views on the fact that public funds are channelled to hunt clubs via Horse Racing Ireland to meet the cost of providing doctors at each point-to-point – a cost which was previously borne by point-to-point organisers”. Minister Creed replied: “From 2017, the funding provided to the Turf Club / INHS Committee for Point-to-Points includes the cost of providing one suitably qualified medical officer at every point-to-point. This is to ensure that the appropriate level of care and attention is available for riders in the event of injury.”
In 2021, Paul Murphy TD questioned Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue about “medical staff and the number of ambulances and ambulance crew members in attendance at racecourses and point-to-point meetings nationwide”
“Ambulance providers [at race meetings and point-to-point meetings] are all from the voluntary sector, with the Order of Malta being their main provider (the Irish Red Cross cover one racecourse, and the Civil Defence cover two racecourses),” Minister McConalogue told him. “To ensure the highest level of safety for riders, each fixture is serviced by three ambulances and the appropriate crew numbers which, as a rule, is a driver and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) on each ambulance.”
He revealed that “the daily rate for ambulances at race meetings is met 50/50 by the racecourses and Horse Racing Ireland” and that “the Order of Malta receives an annual grant from HRI”.
ACTION ALERT
Demand an end to the government’s grants to horse racing and HRI's grants to cruel fox hunting. Call for an immediate ban on fox hunting and all bloodsports. Contact the leaders of Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party.
Simon Harris TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: +353 (0)1 618 3805 or +353 (0)1 889 2442
Email: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
X: http://www.twitter.com/SimonHarrisTD
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeputySimonHarris
Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
X: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
X: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan
Contact all your local TDs and urge them to push for a ban on fox hunting. Visit the Oireachtas website for names of TDs and their email addresses http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=33&disp=mem
Keep hunters off your land
If you are a landowner, make your land off-limits to hunters. Find out more about how to do this on our Farmers/Landowners Page – http://www.banbloodsports.com/farmers.htm
Witness the cruelty of fox hunting in Ireland at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkKLmvHZang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbLKs9pgQno
Please support our campaign with a donation
https://www.paypal.me/banbloodsports
HRI point-to-point racing grants to hunts (2014 to 2022)
United Hunt (F): €699,700
Duhallow (F): €633,200
Muskerry (F): €331,900
West Waterford (F): €328,700
North Down (F): €302,000
East Antrim (H): €268,400
Tipperary (F): €253,200
Carlow Farmers (F): €230,400
Killinick (H): €224,400
Ormond (F): €220,900
Wexford (F): €216,600
County Clare (H): €213,700
Laois (F): €209,300
Shillelagh & District (F): €205,900
South Union (F): €205,800
Westmeath (F): €205,100
Stonehall (H): €204,300
Meath (F): & Tara, (H): €203,400
East Down (F): €201,200
Louth (F): €200,100
Fermanagh (H): €200,000
Limerick (F): €199,900
Mid Antrim (H): €198,900
Galway Blazers (F): €187,900
Killeagh (H): €187,000
Carbery (F): €186,800
Iveagh (F): €169,800
Kilkenny (F): €160,800
Route (H): €160,300
Bree (F): €153,200
County Down (S): €150,200
Brosna (F): €134,800
Killultagh Old Rock & Chichester (F): €127,500
Kildare (F): €119,300
South Westmeath (H): €119,000
Ballymacad (F): €118,300
Waterford (F): €115,800
Island Hunt (F): €115,700
County Limerick (F): €115,700
Golden Vale (F): €115,200
North Kerry (H): €108,900
Kilworth & Araglen (H): €102,900
Tynan & Armagh: €102,200
North Kilkenny (F): €102,000
North Tipperary (F): €101,100
Bray (H): €97,300
Scarteen (F): €94,300
Avondhu (F): €93,800
Ward Union (S): €93,600
Dungarvan Farmers (F): €90,600
Kilmoganny (F): €89,400
North Galway (F): €86,100
Doneraile (H): €84,800
Newry (H): €84,700
Wicklow (F): €77,300
Westmeath & Longford (H): €73,800
East Galway (F): €70,300
Premier (H): €68,200
Killeady (H): €62,700
Suirvale (H): €40,900
County Roscommon (H): €25,900
Ballinagore (H): €18,400
Cloyne: €17,500
East Clare: €15,600
Clonmel Premier (H): €15,100
Oriel (H): €3,300
Total: €10,413,400
HRI point-to-point racing grants to hunts (2023)
€1.6 million