RACEHORSE owners have reacted to comments made on RTÉ Radio by People before Profit TD Paul Murphy in relation to prize money in Irish racing.

Speaking on RTÉ This Week programme, Deputy Murphy challenged Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, on the amount of prize money paid tax-free “to a small number of already very wealthy multi-millionaire or billionaire horse owners.”

The Minister responded by saying that the money the Government invests in the racing industry each year (€72.8 million in 2023) is “money that is very well invested in an industry which overall contributes about €1.84 billion to the Irish economy”. He added that there are approximately 30,000 people are employed through the industry.

Regina Byrne, manager of the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners, told The Irish Field: “I think that Paul Murphy’s comments were sensationalist, superficial and blinkered.

“It is remiss of Mr Murphy to label the prize money received as ‘tax-free’, considering the level of taxation that is applied to every single euro invested into Irish racing from owners. There are over 4,900 registered owners in this country who use their already taxed, disposable income, to collectively support directly and indirectly almost 30,000 jobs in rural Ireland.”

Deputy Murphy said that the level of Government funding for racing was not justifiable. “I think particularly, given the cost-of-living crisis, it’s completely unjustified,” he said.

Byrne countered: “The cost of living crisis extends outside the pale and everyone is feeling the pinch. Owners, like everyone else, are experiencing additional costs through training fee increases, fuel increases and racing expenses, in addition to their own personal costs.”

She pointed out that owners contribute 24% to the overall prize money pot through entries and said it was imperative that Irish prize money levels remained competitive internationally, “to ensure continued foreign investment and the retention of current owners.”

A spokesperson for Horse Racing Ireland told RTÉ that the level of prize money “impacts the sale of Irish horses and the decision to keep horses in training in Ireland. The activity of training thoroughbred racehorses is very labour intensive and, therefore, the greater the number of horses in training in Ireland, the greater the employment and economic impact.”

Byrne added: “Mr Murphy appears to overlook the direct foreign investment that this industry provides for our country in rural Ireland. There are huge opportunities for employment within our industry.

“Horse Racing Ireland, through their subsidiary Equuip, are providing guidelines, courses and education to anyone who is willing to work or become involved in the industry.”

The owners of racehorses get 72% of prize money winnings, with 10% going to both trainers and jockeys, and 8% for other causes including to stable staff, charities and industry organisations.

Asked why horse owners do not have to pay tax on their winnings, Minister McConalogue said: “In terms of winnings, it’s a loss-making industry for those who take part in it. It’s by and large a hobby which actually costs those who are involved in it.”

He said that if tax was applied, then “you would also have to apply for tax to be deducted where there are losses and, overall, that would cost more to the taxpayer and the Revenue”.

The majority of the funding stays within the country, the Minister said. “When you look at our sector overall, just 3% of the total prize money in the country actually goes to non-Irish-trained horses, so that shows that the funding is actually staying within the country.”