Madam, – Like Peter Cosgrave (March 25th), I find it staggering that horse-racing in Ireland is funded to such an excessive degree.
In 2008 Horse Racing Ireland received €61 million in Government grants. This equates to €44 for every racegoer each time they attended a race meeting. In any given year GAA attendances run to approximately 2.4 million. Were the GAA to benefit from the same level of funding as the HRI, on this basis it would receive over €100 million (the cost of a new Croke Park) from the Government every year. (The GAA actually received less than €4 million in 2007)
The GAA and all other sporting organisations in Ireland are expected to be largely self-financing. It is not time that wealthy racehorse owners paid for their own sport rather than landing their bills in the lap of the taxpayer? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In reply to Peter Cosgrave’s letter, I would like to clarify some facts about the Irish horse-racing industry. This is timely in the wake of the great Irish successes at Cheltenham recently.
The Irish horse-racing industry supports over 16,500 jobs and the stability of these jobs and the economic activity around them depends on the long-term security of funding for the industry. All the other major horse-racing and breeding nations of the world are funded and supported through betting revenues. In Ireland this has been done via the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund.
Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) – and indeed the wider industry – is not looking for financial support from the taxpayer. The industry wants its funding to be directly linked to betting activity in the State, independent of the taxpayer. While total betting in Ireland has increased by 304 per cent since 2001 (from €1.36 billion to €5.5 billion), betting duty has actually declined by 44 per cent (from €68 million to €38 million). The horse-racing industry believes that through modifications to tax on betting, more duty can be obtained from betting activity in the State, thereby generating funding both for the industry and for other purposes, such as education, health and welfare.
In 2007, 30 per cent of HRI’s total expenditure was spent on prize money. This “seed” investment is used to generate activity by owners, sponsors and other industry players. On average, HRI provides just over half of total prize money in Ireland with the remainder being provided by owners and sponsors. In order to compete for this prize money, owners expend approximately €260 million annually on training fees, vets, fees, transport, etc, providing jobs throughout the country and generating tax revenue.
Horse-racing is stitched into the fabric of the Irish rural economy and employs people in every county. Any erosion of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund will inevitably result in job losses throughout the industry. In the current economic climate all jobs need to be supported – especially where they are distributed across the country, particularly in rural areas. – Yours, etc,