BUDGET 2022 did not go the way of Horse Sport Ireland’s ambitious pre-Budget €15 million costed proposals resulting in a €200,000 increase to €5.2 million from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Acting CEO of Horse Sport Ireland, Joe Reynolds, said yesterday (Friday): “We are very disappointed with the €200,000 Budget increase given the amount of work we put into our pre-Budget submission and the cross-party support we got on it from the three main parties and the Independents. A lot of the politicians did make representations for us because we saw them and asked Parliamentary Questions as well. We had great support but it did not work.
“€200,000 is not to be sneezed at but it’s far short of what we put in for at €15 million – we, as an industry, just don’t attract that level of support. We believe that it was a very well-costed proposal and every element had a justification and a pay-back but they did not buy it. It’s a long road to make our good story heard at political level. The long-term plan is to raise the awareness of Horse Sport Ireland and we are making progress on that. We are succeeding in broadening the message. We are not seen yet as an industry however and that was manifested in this Budget.”
Despite the low increase, Ministers Charlie McConalogue and Martin Heydon expressed strong support for the Irish Sport Horse sector.
Donegal senior Minister Charlie McConalogue TD (FF) told The Irish Field: “It is a sector we are strongly backing. It is a sector that spreads right across the country and is a very important part of people’s lives and one we will continue to engage with and strongly support.”
Kildare South TD and Minister of State Martin Heydon (FG) added: “Our focus is on the breeding side of things and it is very much for us about increasing that value; there is still huge potential and scope in that area.
“This Department has significantly increased its commitment and funding from 2017 when the allocation was €2 million and now for the 2022 Budget we are up at €5.2 million. That is a really significant increase in recent years to support the great work HSI are doing.”
Asked if equine farming would be eligible under TAMS II and under schemes going forward, Minister Heydon said: “There is some element of TAMS for certain equine equipment and it’s always open to elements to look at new TAMS.”
Minister Heydon added that the €200,000 represented an increase when many sectors, including Horse Racing Ireland, suffered a cut. HRI’s Budget allocation of €70.4 million for 2022 is down €6 million on last year’s.
Fianna Fail TD Jackie Cahill, who is chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture said: “Horse Sport Ireland has ambitious plans and I would encourage them to stay lobbying and they will bear fruit. Their demands for grants aren’t over extravagant; they have to keep lobbying and hopefully in a budget or two they will succeed in their asks.”
Meanwhile, Dermot Kelleher, President of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, supported equine farming under available schemes such as ANC (Areas of Natural Constraints) citing that equines eligible as food-producing livestock units should be included.
Passports update
Meanwhile, with a large volume of passports to be processed, Joe Reynolds said that extra HSI staff have been deployed to passport duties and some staff will also work at weekends to clear the backlog of foal applications. “We are working to clear the backlog and get all foal applications up on the system by the end of next week,” pledged Reynolds.
It’s understood that some 280 calls on one day alone flooded into HSI over the passport delays.