By the time you read this the make-up of the 33rd Dáil will be known and we may be close to appointing a new Taoiseach and cabinet. But at time of going to press (Tuesday) there was plenty of uncertainty and many in the racing and equestrian community were concerned as to what the ‘Sinn Féin surge’ would mean for horse sport in Ireland.

The party is not exactly known for its support of the equine sector. I’ve never seen Mary Lou McDonald – or any Sinn Féin representative – at the races, at the Dublin Horse Show or at an industry awards night.

Along with some other left-wing TDs and the Green Party, Sinn Féin has consistently voted against funding for the racing sector, though this could be misleading and more to do with their opposition to the previous Government than racing itself.

Anti-racing

Even though Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny made a strong anti-racing speech in the Dáil three years ago, his issue was more about how money was being spent by the sport’s administrators rather than a problem with racing or breeding.

Sources high up in racing administration say that the party’s Pearse Doherty (Donegal) and Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan) do appreciate the economic importance of the equestrian sector, and the enjoyment horse sport brings to thousands of people all over the country.

A few days before the election, Carthy posted on Facebook: “Sinn Féin fully recognises the value that traditional rural pursuits including hunting and fishing bring to local rural economies and the role played by local associations in communities around the country.”

It’s probably fair to say that many of the party’s urban TDs (particularly those in Dublin) would have little connection with horses but last weekend saw Sinn Féin gain seats in ‘horse’ counties such as Tipperary, Kildare, Cork, Carlow-Kilkenny, Meath and Westmeath. Surely these deputies will know the value of the sector to their constituents.

Worrying

Worryingly, Sinn Féin’s representative on the Oireachtas Joint Party Committee for Agriculture, Brian Stanley, is not a fan of racing at all.

The Laois-Offaly TD, who topped the poll there last weekend, described the funding for racing as “way over the top” last December. He said: “Horse Racing Ireland were in the Oireachtas only a few weeks ago and told us how well their industry was performing. They don’t need this money as much as other sectors do. It would be immoral of us to vote to allocate such over the top funding to an industry where most of it goes to prize money which ends up in the hands of millionaire horse owners.”

This is absolute nonsense. Simple calculations would tell you that every single one of the leading racehorse owners – people such as John Magnier, JP McManus, Sheikh Mohammed and Michael O’Leary – are spending many times more money on horses and their upkeep than they get back in prizemoney.

Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud is reckoned to have won €20m in prize money over the past four years but this represents just 40% of their outlay. And plenty of that money was won in England too. Let’s hope the new Minister for Agriculture does his/her homework.