Horseracing and greyhound fund cut 3.3%

D Boyo

How much was welfare cut? 4%. Even to the very end these crooks are looking after their horsey pals, this is a cut that would have mainly impacted on the elite. What about tax on the breeding operations? Nothing, surely everybody has to feel the pain not just the working class. Before people say will cutting the HR&GF would have made for job losses as less people would have had horses in training, well i don't think too many people would have got involved in horses because they thought you could make money via the prize money they may win.

Other sports will have to put up with basically no grants for years to come, what makes horse racing and greyhound racing so special that they get off relatively Scott-free? People will still go racing regardless of prize money.

ednwireland

so this appointment was worthwhile to them then :rolleyes:

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/cowens-brother-lands-dogs-job-2406939.html

honestly, what did you expect the pain shared evenly ? .......oh wait

D Boyo

ednwireland wrote: »

so this appointment was worthwhile to them then :rolleyes:

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/cowens-brother-lands-dogs-job-2406939.html

honestly, what did you expect the pain shared evenly ? .......oh wait

Jesus i totally forgot about this, wow what do you say about this crowd FF, what sort of neck do they have?!

avalon68

Well, Im not condoning it, but horseracing brings huge revenue into the country - in terms of the taxes paid on gambling, and the bump to the tourism industry for major events.

thebman

avalon68 wrote: »

Well, Im not condoning it, but horseracing brings huge revenue into the country - in terms of the taxes paid on gambling, and the bump to the tourism industry for major events.

There isn't much evidence to see that would stop if they didn't get massive funding though is there?

It is not like there is a lack of money in gambling.

avalon68

thebman wrote: »

There isn't much evidence to see that would stop if they didn't get massive funding though is there?

It is not like there is a lack of money in gambling.

Well Im sure it would have a knock on effect - less money for upkeep of track = less good horses being brought here to race for example, less money for advertising, im sure theres a lot of others. Im pretty sure they do a lot towards promoting the irish horse abroad too - which in turn generates money from breeding..... I dont know the figures, but I cant imagine they get that much money in the grand scheme of things. I mean - how much does the GAA get?

thebman

avalon68 wrote: »

Well Im sure it would have a knock on effect - less money for upkeep of track = less good horses being brought here to race for example, less money for advertising, im sure theres a lot of others. Im pretty sure they do a lot towards promoting the irish horse abroad too - which in turn generates money from breeding..... I dont know the figures, but I cant imagine they get that much money in the grand scheme of things. I mean - how much does the GAA get?

I wouldn't compare the two TBH, one is a sport that people gamble on and the other is gambling that happens to be a sport.

GAA at least provide facilities for kids growing up and we have a severe lack of these so anything is better than nothing.

Not many 8 year olds race horses.

avalon68

thebman wrote: »

I wouldn't compare the two TBH, one is a sport that people gamble on and the other is gambling that happens to be a sport.

GAA at least provide facilities for kids growing up and we have a severe lack of these so anything is better than nothing.

Not many 8 year olds race horses.

Lots of 8 year olds ride horses though, and partake in showjumping etc. Our local pony club used the facilities of the local racetrack for a lot of its activities when I was growing up. Young jockeys begin their training after junior cert afaik. My point is you cant condemn funding for something just because you have no interest in it - the equestrian industry is big in Ireland, and we are known for it abroad....In this economic crisis we need to preserve any homegrown industries we have....

jonnybravo

The Horse Racing industry is a pretty big employer in Ireland and cutting the money spent on it would be pretty counter productive.

Plus as far as I am aware there is a tax on gambling on horse racing and greyhounds which largely funds this expense. Think its 1% of revenue but could be wrong. Also I think it was extended in the Budget so therefore the revenue would be increasing to the government and the costs decreasing so the net cost to the government would be reduced by more than 3.3%.

thebman

avalon68 wrote: »

Lots of 8 year olds ride horses though, and partake in showjumping etc. Our local pony club used the facilities of the local racetrack for a lot of its activities when I was growing up. Young jockeys begin their training after junior cert afaik. My point is you cant condemn funding for something just because you have no interest in it - the equestrian industry is big in Ireland, and we are known for it abroad....In this economic crisis we need to preserve any homegrown industries we have....

One that isn't horseracing and two the facilities could easily be funded by the industry itself as it takes in enough money to do so and that could still go on.

The government funding is an unrequired sweetner to an industry that doesn't need it at a time we can't afford to give it.

I have nothing against it just because I have no interest in it.

avalon68

thebman wrote: »

One that isn't horseracing and two the facilities could easily be funded by the industry itself as it takes in enough money to do so and that could still go on.

The government funding is an unrequired sweetner to an industry that doesn't need it at a time we can't afford to give it.

I have nothing against it just because I have no interest in it.

My point is that you are underestimating the size of the horse industry in Ireland, and economically it is important to maintain and preserve these jobs into the future. Plus Id be surprised if a lot of money is involved here when compared to money other sports receive.....aviva stadium anyone???

thebman

avalon68 wrote: »

My point is that you are underestimating the size of the horse industry in Ireland, and economically it is important to maintain and preserve these jobs into the future. Plus Id be surprised if a lot of money is involved here when compared to money other sports receive.....aviva stadium anyone???

If it an economically important industry, it would not need grants to survive is the point I'm making.

Why does a profitable industry need grants?

It is sustainable on its own and doesn't need free government handouts when we are 20 billion in the red.

I don't believe that it would have a negative effect on the industry as a whole. I believe it would means slightly lower profits for some but the taxpayer shouldn't be expanding their profits.

What exactly would we lose if they didn't get this money?

paul71

I think a previous poster alluded to the size of the Horse Industry in Ireland, if you look at it in detail you will note that there are two aspects to it, horse breeding and horse racing. There are in excess of 1000 public and private stud farms in Ireland ranging from farms like Derrinstown, Coolmore, Airlie, Kildangan and the National stud which employ a few hundred each down to the one man operations, you have the ancillary services industries which rely on these such as farriers, vets, transport, auctioneers, feed and insurance. There are several hundred trainers again varying in size, the racecourse staff and tourism services provided to them.

The horseracing industry has long advocated that the betting industry should be obligated to provide more support to the industry as opposed to government grants, but irrespective of the source of the funds it has been estimated that the industry provides employment to about 50,000 people not a figure that can be lightly discounted.