There was good news for Ireland’s racing and bloodstock industry in Tuesday’s Budget speech.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan announced he would be making an extra €6 million available to the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund each year for the next three years, while a further €5 million would be handed to Horse Racing Ireland in 2015 for investment in racecourses.

The Minister said: “In recognition of the importance of the Irish bloodstock industry to the rural economy and the anticipated yield of €25 million per annum from Betting Duty, the Government will be providing an additional €6 million a year for three years to the fund for horse and greyhound racing. The Government is also allocating additional capital of €5 million to Horse Racing Ireland in 2015 to leverage investment in racecourses.”

Later on Tuesday afternoon the Department of Agriculture issued the following bulletin: "The Minister has allocated at least €68 million to the Horse and Greyhound Fund, an increase of €14 million in 2015, in recognition of the significant shortfall in funding going into the horse and greyhound sectors in recent years as a result of the downturn in the economy. With the introduction of the online betting tax, the Government will be providing an additional €6 million a year to the Horse and Greyhound Fund. As a result Horse Racing Ireland will be better positioned to make a significant contribution to racecourse reinvestment in 2015, with an initial allocation of €11.2 million. The remaining €2.8 million will be allocated to Bord Na gCon to support its activities."

Fine Gael TD for Kildare South and chair of Fine Gael’s Internal Committee on Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Martin Heydon said: "Budget 2015 is really good news for the horse racing and breeding industries. Minister Noonan announced in his Budget speech today that he is providing an additional €6 million a year for the next three years to the Horse and Greyhound Fund. In addition he is providing an extra €5 million to Horse Racing Ireland for investment in our racecourses. I hope this will support many important initiatives around the country including the already planned redevelopment of the Curragh racecourse.

“In recent weeks I have been lobbying for an increase in funding to the Horse and Greyhound Fund, and I have spoken on numerous occasions to both Ministers Noonan and Coveney to emphasise the importance of these industries to the Irish economy, in particular to rural areas where other industries are not as prominent.

"The horseracing and breeding industries create economic output of €1.1 billion and support in excess of 14,000 jobs, mainly in rural Ireland. They are an integral part of the economy of rural Ireland.

“I am delighted that Ministers Coveney and Noonan understand the importance of these industries to Irish jobs and have shown their support for them in real terms in today’s Budget.

“Since the establishment of the Horse and Greyhound Fund in 2001, the State has provided in excess of €850 million to the horse racing and greyhound industries. This included highs of €78.3 million in 2008 which was reduced to €68.1 million in 2009 and €59.3 million in 2010 by the previous Government. During a period of huge recession and financial pressure on state funding, particularly in the last three years, this Government has managed to maintain funding levels with minimal decreases with the most recent allocation of €54.2 million for 2014. Now that the economy is recovering, I am delighted that this funding to the Horse and Greyhound industry is being increased again. This is really good news for jobs in rural Ireland, particularly in Co Kildare.”

More on this story in The Irish Field on Saturday. Online from 10pm Friday.