Increase in animal welfare spend at Limerick-headquartered Greyhound Racing Ireland

Limerick Greyhound Stadium. Photo: X (Twitter).

A RAMPING up in spending on animal welfare and race regulation at the Limerick-headquartered Greyhound Racing Ireland contributed to pre-tax profits declining by 77 per cent to โ‚ฌ243,143 last year.

The annual reportย for the commercial semi-state body, Rรกsaรญocht Con ร‰ireann, shows that the agencyโ€™s profits declined as revenues from racing activities increased by 16 per cent from โ‚ฌ18.85m to โ‚ฌ21.99m.

The agency also benefited from a State grant of โ‚ฌ18.2m, an increase on the โ‚ฌ17.6m allocated for 2022.

The report also shows that the spend on racing regulation, welfare, laboratory, integrity, and governance increased by 27 per cent from โ‚ฌ2.97m to โ‚ฌ3.77m last year.

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In his report, chairman Frank Nyhan said that โ€œ2023 was a positive year on and off the track for Irish greyhound racing with our race meeting attendances up on the previous year and significant further investment in RCร‰โ€™s care and welfare initiativesโ€.

โ€œIn 2023, RCร‰ allocated โ‚ฌ3.15m in total to traceability, care, and welfare matters, and continued to expand its programme of welfare and care initiatives from the Rรกsaรญocht Con ร‰ireann Traceability System (RCร‰TS) to our ongoing support for the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust (IRGT).โ€

Mr Nyhan stated that, with support from RCร‰, the IRGT assisted in the rehoming of 1,447 retired greyhounds in 2023.

He said that RCร‰ also carried out 1,882 welfare checks and inspections of greyhound establishments during 2023 โ€“ down on the 2,674 inspections carried out in 2022.

RCร‰ CEO Tim Lucey said there was a significant recovery in attendances at RCร‰ racetracks since the pandemic, with 378,748 patrons attending greyhound racing events in 2023 โ€“ an 18 per cent increase on the 322,124 who attended in 2022.

Mr Lucey said that โ€œthe welfare of racing greyhounds is our main priority and, therefore, RCร‰ strives to implement the highest possible welfare standards at kennels and racing facilities throughout the country.โ€

Prize money last year increased also by eight per cent to โ‚ฌ8.96m.

The RCEโ€™s operating surplus declined by 56 per cent to โ‚ฌ746,861 and net non-cash depreciation costs of โ‚ฌ583,434 resulted in the pre-tax profit of โ‚ฌ243,143.

Numbers employed last year increased from 213 to 238 and staff costs totalled โ‚ฌ9.67m. The spend included โ‚ฌ104,861 on termination benefits for nine staff.