Tánaiste to examine report questioning State funding for greyhound racing

The Tánaiste has committed to examining a report which questioned the rationale for State support of greyhound racing.

Simon Harris was speaking one day after the Parliamentary Budget Office released a report into what it called Ireland’s “costly love affair with greyhounds”.

The office reviews public expenditure, its rationale and whether it meets stated objectives when preparing reports for members of the Oireachtas.

It questioned the long-term sustainability of the industry and whether state intervention is “simply arresting the inevitable collapse” of the greyhound racing sector.

It said the greyhound racing sector “remains heavily reliant on State funding” with Exchequer support accounting for 45.9% of Rásaíocht Con Éireann’s (Greyhound Racing Ireland) total revenue in 2024.

It also noted that attendance has fallen sharply over the past decade – down by almost 45% between 2015 and 2025, while average attendance per race meeting fell from 388 to 235.

It said this “sustained decline raises questions regarding the policy rationale for continued State support for the industry”.

The PBO also said welfare and traceability “remain major issues”.

It said: “The evidence base for continued funding is limited.

“Economic-impact claims continue to rely mainly on a 2021 report, and detailed attendance data by venue and attendance type is not readily available.

“The evidence that is available raises questions about whether continued Government support is justified.

“Taken together, the available information shows a sector with continued and increasing public funding, falling operating surpluses, declining attendances and persistent welfare concerns.”

It said that if members of the Dáil are to continue to support 20 million euro in annual funding for greyhound racing, an updated cost-benefit analysis and attendance review could better inform their decisions.

Asked about the report findings, Mr Harris said: “Issues around animal welfare are important, and I’ll have a look at what the Parliamentary Budgetary Office is saying.”

Mr Harris said Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon had published a new animal welfare strategy earlier this week.

The term “greyhound” is not mentioned in the document.

Earlier this week, advocacy group Greyhound Action Ireland criticised the more than 20 million euro allocated to greyhound racing in Budget 2027 as “unjustifiable from either an economic or animal welfare perspective”.

It says the industry is unviable and has a “reprehensible” animal welfare record.

It has raised concerns that thousands of greyhounds born between 2021 and 2024 – which are still on the island but no longer racing or trialling – have been recorded as dead.

Thousands of other dogs have been exported.

Green leader Roderic O’Gorman said an existing tracing systems shows the “tragic fate of thousands of greyhounds” who are deemed not good enough for racing and “disappear off the system or are exported to other countries to God-knows-what sort of conditions”.

He said Ireland has a “shocking reputation” as the place to go for a cheap dog in Europe, adding: “I don’t think that’s something we should be proud of as a country.”

Mr O’Gorman said greyhound racing was “creating huge suffering to thousands of dogs every day” and there was a need to break the link of state funding for the industry.

“If the State wasn’t funding greyhound racing, greyhound racing wouldn’t be happening because – greyhound racing does not wash its face, it is not financially viable.”

Mr Heydon said he was “determined that we continue to strive to improve animal welfare across all facets of society”.

On the lack of reference to greyhounds in the strategy, his Department said it was never “envisaged as a species by species prescription for actions”.

Rásaíocht Con Éireann said the industry has “a rich and valued heritage and has a deep sporting and cultural history in Ireland”.

It said stadia are active across 15 locations with up to 30 race meetings per week, providing “exciting entertainment and hospitality”.

It said it has “a well-developed welfare inspection and greyhound sampling programme” which it said shows “exceptional standards” of animal welfare and transparency.

It said: “In 2025, welfare inspections undertaken which focus on standards at premises and greyhound welfare, had a 95.55% level of compliance with the standards required as set out in our Code of Practice for the Care and Welfare of Greyhounds.”

It added that there was an “exceptionally low level of injury at greyhound racing tracks” with the percentage of those greyhounds who raced at tracks without incurring an injury at 99.63%.