Additional funding for the greyhound industry for 2021, designed to help the industry survive through the Covid-19 pandemic was approved in Dáil Éireann on Wednesday of this week.

To try and block this funding, and to gradually defund the sport, the Social Democrats put forward a motion to the Dáil which called on the Government to:

— waive the increased funding of €2.4 million due to be given to the greyhound industry;

— incrementally refocus greyhound racing funding to the welfare of dogs impacted by breeding and racing associated with the industry; and

— work towards the gradual phasing out of State support for the Irish greyhound industry by 2025

However, the Government Parties put forward an amendment to call for the funding to be approved to help support the industry.

The amendment notes that “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.”

This amendment was carried by a margin of 94 in favour, to 57 against.

Amongst the 94 in favour were TD’s James Browne, Paul Kehoe and Verona Murphy. Whilst Senator Malcom Byrne also voted in favour when the vote reached the Seanad.

The 57 against were Sinn Fein, Labour and others. Included in this were Sinn Fein’s Johnny Mythen and Labour’s Brendan Howlin, both of whom voted against increasing financial support to this industry to ensure its survival through Covid-19.

In County Wexford, Enniscorthy Greyhound track is the focal point for the industry. The track was threatened with closure only last winter, but thankfully a reprieve was given. The greyhound industry employs many people in the County and is worth millions to the local economy.

Both Brendan Howlin and Johnny Mythen voted against supporting the industry through Covid-19 despite their previous stances on the issue.

Sinn Fein’s Johnny Mythen has previously been a supporter of the industry. In January, prior to the election, he was among those who attended a meeting calling for the track to be saved from closure. In the Dáil on May 13th Deputy Mythen expressed his concerns about the clousure of the track to the Minister in a written question:

Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the decision by the Irish Greyhound Board to close the Enniscorthy track; and if an analysis was carried out of the decision regarding the loss of same to local employment, tourism, infrastructure, commerce, charities, clubs and organisations which rely solely on nights at the dogs to fund their organisations

The decision of Johnny Mythen and Sinn Fein to vote against supporting the industry, particularly when it provides so much joy, sport and economic activity to his local town, will raise some eyebrows. We contacted Sinn Fein for comment yesterday, but at the time of publishing they have not responded.

In the case of Brendan Howlin, only last year a statement from the Labour Party expressed their full support for the local track and the economy which its supports. Here is a link to the article we ran on this subject:

“Labour Party fully supports the Enniscorthy Greyhound Track”

Furthermore, the leader of the Labour Party, Alan Kelly is the owner of a black bitch called ‘AKAY FORTY SEVEN’ who has won 3 of her 4 starts to date. Kelly owns the dog in partnership with Sean Bourke, Clonmel. The Bourke family operate one of the most successful studs in the country, where they have stood some tops class stud dogs for decades.

We contacted Brendan Howlin for comment yesterday, but at the time of publishing we had received no response.

Reacting to the vote result, Senator Malcolm Byrne told WexfordToday:

“Funding for horse racing and greyhound racing is funded from a tax on bets placed on racing. The government is committed to supporting the sector and I restate my strong support for Wexford racecourse and Enniscorthy dog track. It is disappointing that Labour and Sinn Fein opposed funding for these facilities in the County.”

The Irish Greyhound board, in a 2017 report estimate that over 5,000 are in employment either directly in the greyhound industry or indirectly as a result of the Irish greyhound industry. Teagasc estimate that the greyhound sector is worth over €300 million to the Irish economy.

The sport still continues behind closed doors, with racing in Enniscorthy on Monday and Thursday evenings, which means that most of the expenditure remains the same, but the income from gate receipts, tote profits and betting levies are almost non-existent in comparison to normal years.