Thanks for the update.

Very frustrating

Would it be possible to speak to you. I really want to understand why we cant bring a unite front. I understand your point that greyhound people have not agreed for the last 50 years but you must also surely acknowledge this is a very critical time for the sport and now is a time to come together.

I`m not for one minute saying i know how to solve the problems but i do see a lot of very talent people on different forums that given the support of everyone could advance major change and make the sport great again.

Again as previously stated i`m very new to the sport so i don't know the history.

As someone who has been on the killing floor, I would not want anyone related to me working in this environment. The meat plants acquire people from Eastern Europe and they tend to stay together

It begs the question what are the antis doing in this environment.

It is very easy picking on the greyhound industry but the elephant in the room is why they are not focusing in the meat industry or the horse racing industry.

The answer is that greyhound industry is an easy touch and they know that the IGB is not going to go after them while the HRI or the farmers will take a position.

Latest Iris Ofiguil includes two new appointments to Irish Greyhound Board: "Mr Patrick Flanagan and Ms Elizabeth Gray have been appointed to the Board of Bord na gCon with effect from 23rd July 2020" EXTERNAL LINK
When you click the link you get the following;

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT TO THE BOARD OF BORD NA gCON
In exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, pursuant to section 9 (as amended by section 2 of the Greyhound Industry (Amendment) Act, 1993 (No 37 of 1993)), of the Greyhound Industry Act 1958 (No 12 of the 1958) Mr Patrick Flanagan and Ms Elizabeth Gray have been appointed to the Board of Bord na gCon with effect from 23rd July 2020.

The question has to be asked which rats have just deserted the singing ship that is the IGB.

EXTERNAL LINK

Jeanette,
This from the greyhound star may point us in the direction in which we are probably heading.

"I reported in July that matings in Ireland for the first seven months of the year were down 30%. They included almost three months worth of pre-Covid matings.

What will the final 2020 figures show? A decline of 30%, 40%?"

I have no doubt that you will see a couple jump ship as we get closer to the next budget.

It is not the IGB that is the 'sinking ship'. It is the industry that they are supposed to regulate AND promote .

I hope you are keeping well and staying safe.

The IGB and the greyhound industry are interlinked because the IGB get the 16.8m p.a. to promote and run the industry.

You can be damn sure that they are running out of money big time.

They were a distressed entity pre-Covid and the current pandemic has only speeded up the slow death of the greyhound industry that we have witnessed over the past decade. That is why they were drawing down just under 4m per month up to May.

The Irish Greyhound Board, which is the beneficiary of a 16.8m annual State budget stemming from the Horse and Greyhound Fund, drew down some 11.9m between the start of March and end of May, at a rate of just under 4m per month.

The day of reckoning is coming in the form of the next budget where it will be political suicide to allocate millions to an industry which has returned some of the worst financial returns in the history of the state. Especially when you have so many viable businesses who are on their knees due to the pandemic.

What happens if the IGB dont get their handout in November? In my opinion the IGB is insolvent and the greyhound industry goes into melt down.

Appendix 3 (Profit & Loss Account 2018 2022) on page 48, forecasts a payment of 19 million for 2021 and 20 million for 2022 from the government through the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund. It is obvious that this is not going to happen and these payments represent over 50% of the IGB forecasted income for 2021 and 2022.

EXTERNAL LINK

What this means is that the IGB Strategic Plan is not worth the paper it is written on and that the greyhound industry is rudderless and is drifting towards a day of reckoning in November.

Also the 23 million windfall from the Department of Education due the sale of Harolds Cross is long gone at this stage and it begs the question where has this money gone.

These are huge sums of tax payers money quite simply the management of the greyhound industry over the last decade has been the biggest scandal in the history of the state.

History will not judge them well.

Mr Boles, I do not know how you come to the conclusion that Mr. Conor Ryan is "One of the last good journalists for the Greyhound Industry" when he is main person responssible for the RTE programe last year "Running for their Lives".

He is on a crusade to destroy the Greyhoound Industry within Ireland by any means and he even had a go at the Horse industry in his early days with a book he wrote "Stalions & Power" before tapping into the Greyohound Industry.

Therefore I'd have to disagree with your comments....all this can be accessed online, he never has a good word to say about our Industry......

EXTERNAL LINK

In this article he outlines how the greyhound industry had become a political plaything where people were appointed into positions of power on the basis of who they know and not what they know. This would not have been a good career move for Conor Ryan at the time so he deserves the respect from anyone who loves the greyhound game. I would presume that over the intervening years he came to the conclusion that the greyhound industry is beyond saving and your last post confirms this position.

The fact that greyhound owners and breeders did not react to this information at the time is not his problem.

I find it amazing that what you took out of my recent posts was my recognition of this 2013 article and the nads it would have took to write it at the time. And not the fact that the IGB have taken nearly 50 million in prizemoney from greyhound people, created the China problem for the antis and are currently waving around a strategic report that expects a handout of 19 / 20 million that represents over half of their projected turnover.

I have no doubt that you will continue to bury your head in the sand, continue to look for GOOD NEWS and be an apologist for the IGB but the day of reckoning is coming.

My last dog ran in Lifford in Dec 2009.

I have not been to a greyhound track since as I did not want to support a quango.

But what I did do is spend a lot of time in 2017 preparing a report to try and stop the closure of HX and presented it to TDs and Senators in Dail Eireann.

Paul - what have you done for the greyhound industry

(Edited by Admin)

OK, I get it now.....

Yes Mr Hyde, we failed and HX was sold and for what - it kept the IGB wage bill going for a couple of extra years but I would like to think that we fought the good fight.

Anyway its probably time to step away and I wish you owners and breeders all the luck - I get the feeling that you are going to need it in 2021.