Mr. Minister, President of the Irish Coursing Club Brian Divilly, Secretary Gen of the Dept Sport Con Hough, Chief Exec of GRB Great Britain Ian Taylor, FAI Chief Executive John Delaney, Ladies and Gentlemen,
A very big welcome to all of you to our Annual Irish Greyhound Awards. Champion Greyhounds, horses have a special place in the hearts of Irish people. People will travel miles to watch our top dogs in action. We love sport in this country. How proud we all were when the Irish Rugby team made history in Cardiff, when Ruby rode seven winners in Cheltenham and when our own Bernard Dunne, a greyhound supporter, won the world title showing heart and courage.
Tonight we gather to recognise the stars of our own sport. They themselves may be tucked up in kennels at home, but the memories that they created in ’08 will be relived and remembered over the next hour, and then argued about in sporting ways over months and years.
Memorable moments in sport have the ability to lift our spirits, our hearts out of the gloom and into a place where our spirits can soar. God knows we need these moments at this point in our history both as a nation and as an industry.
We have no shortage of peddlers of gloom and doom, who day after day, on TV and radio, paint a picture of a no hope no spirit Ireland. Some of these commentators would be better visiting our greyhound tracks where they would meet ordinary plain, honest people, salt of the earth, who are getting on with their lives and facing the daily challenges with a smile on their faces. They should visit Kilkenny Greyhound Track where over the past few months a huge voluntary local effort, combining individuals and businesses have transformed a doomed track into a symbol of local pride. Paul Hennessy and Goba Chairman Ger Duncan, you can take a bow and please pass on our best wishes to your hardworking group, Easter Sunday night will be a proud day for you all.
Yes - The recession is tough and difficult
Yes - Jobs are being lost or placed at risk
Yes - There is unease and anxiety about what the future holds.
Yes - There is utter disgust at the antics and downright greed of a minority who were in privileged roles and have abused their positions.
However as an industry we are not going to sit in the shadows and watch how things unfold. We realised in the middle of ’08 that ’09 would be a much bigger challenge and together with our sponsors and supporters, have put together a programme to fight back.
After a great ’08 in I.G.B where we had a surplus of € 5 million thanks to a record breaking December, this gave us the confidence to fight for whatever business is out there in ’09.
The first months of this year, attendances and betting turnover are down. People are nervous trying to hold on to whatever money they have, reluctant to spend in any number of ways, above all there is a lacking of confidence. We have had to tighten our belts as a business – it is only the well run commercial business’s that will survive the recession.
It is vital :-
1. to ensure that the product we have at our tracks is value for money thus allowing people to come and enjoy themselves at minimum cost.
2. Our strategy has driven us to dramatically reduce our operating costs and together with a rationalisation programme we will save € 2 million in ’09.
3. While many people hummed and hawed about a wage freeze our executives were amongst the first to voluntary take a wage cut. Directors expenses and travel have been cut.
4. In ’09 budget we have not cut prizemoney, this was important and appreciated.
Its important to understand that prizemoney in Greyhound racing goes to Owners, Trainers, to Syndicates, to Kennel hands, Breeders, Vets, Walkers and all others who keep our show on the track going. It is not a luxury, it is the life blood of the industry. We do not operate on grants, purely a payment based on merit. We recognise that we are not a charity and never want to be seen as a charity. The Greyhound Board maintains its integrity and economic potential out of commercial business.
The horse and greyhound fund has been a success story for this country. It has been the vehicle on which the Greyhound Industry was built. We can live with the cutback this year of 8% and we understand the reason.
Let me make it very clear, the Government are not giving money to Greyhound racing because they think it’s a great night out. No, they are supporting it because it is a vibrant business employing part and fulltime staff of 11,000 people throughout the length and breadth of this country, located in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Dundalk, Kilkenny, Tralee, Galway, Clonmel, Enniscorthy, Mullingar, Longford, Newbridge, Youghal, Thurles, Lifford, Derry, and Waterford the home town of our Minister, who is so welcome tonight. More importantly it provides the ties that bind together communities. Hospitals, Schools, Parishes have used tracks as venues for fundraisers - € 7m raised in ’08. The G.A.A recently unveiled a programme for elderly people living alone in rural Ireland. We are providing for those people every night of the week, a place where many come to sit and regularly meet their friends, in comfortable surroundings. Many of these people live alone and this is their only social outlet in the week. I want to mention especially Harolds Cross, under General Manager Pat Flynn, and Chairman Alan Redmond. They have had a fabulous year and every congratulations to them and their team.
The social role is vital or we will lose more than money. The economic role, as well as providing jobs, the business generates € 500m of economic activity and all the decisions which shape that activity are taken here in Ireland, without recourse to whether it might be better undertaken in South East Asia or Eastern Europe.
Greyhound racing is born of this land. It will not be re-locating. Minister we need the support to finish the development programme which has produced the perfect business model. Let me give you a small example :-
Currently Limerick an undeveloped track with antiquated facilities loses € 110,000 a year. On the other hand Cork, a beautiful new stadium earns € 800,000 a year, this in itself shows how beneficial the fund and the development programme are to the industry.
Net cost to the Government is less than € 2m, even if we work on 1% of betting levy :-
The fund - € 14 million
€ 5 million back on VAT, Tax and PRSI
€ 7 million – taking 1% Betting Levy from off track bookmakers
Net cost to the Government -€ 2 million
If 10% of our workforce were forced to go on social welfare the cost to the Government would be € 12 million.
In ’09 we will have 11 live TV shows broadcast by Setanta from all around this country, bringing excitement of a night at the dogs into people’s living room. Internet betting will expand from Ireland to Sweden who will bet into our tote. Also major bookmaker chains can now bet into our Tote. The new track at Greenmount Limerick is exciting, helping to rejuvenate a city after a series of blows. We are having discussions with Limerick City Council and FAI re a long term sale of the market field for use of soccer and the local college, and we welcome John Delaney here tonight. We wish Ian Taylor every success in his role in the greyhound industry in the UK. Ian is an Olympic champion in the sport of Hockey and I am sure well used to the challenge he has to face. Thanks also for making tonight a success to Michael Fortune who brings professionalism to the presentation, Orla and all the team at IGB who organised tonights event and indeed my own board who are very dedicated.
Yes it is easy to run a business when times are good, when the going gets tough you have to trim your sails and make decisions, some unpopular but like the Greyhounds we celebrate tonight we must never lose sight of the finishing line. These champions never deflected in their purpose even if bumped or hampered, come right back showing courage and heart. With respect we must do the same.
With the continued support of the Minister, leadership of the Board, the dedication of the industry, the passion of the sport a positive approach and above all unity, we will be alright.