Ireland’s greyhound racing body, Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ), is set to receive €20.4 million from the State under Budget 2027, up from €19.8 million in Budget 2026, with the increase tied to an independent review of welfare and integrity. Martin Heydon, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, set out the figures in a written Dáil answer on 13 October 2026.
Budget 2027 allocates €102 million to the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund, of which €81.6 million goes to Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and €20.4 million to RCÉ. The allocation is subject to Oireachtas approval and is split 80/20 between the two bodies under the relevant legislation. In Budget 2026 the Fund received €99.1 million, with €79.3 million for HRI and €19.8 million for RCÉ, according to an answer from the Minister on 12 November 2025. RCÉ’s share therefore rises by €0.6 million, or about 3%.
The question came from Deputy Roderic O’Gorman, who asked for the rationale for increasing State funding to the greyhound racing industry. The Minister said the Programme for Government commits to continued support for the Fund, given the economic and social contribution of the two sectors in rural areas. He said the proposed increase will be linked to implementing the recommendations of the Indecon Review on equine and greyhound welfare and integrity, and will form part of his Department’s overall animal welfare package.
The Indecon review
The Department commissioned the review after the Public Accounts Committee, in a January 2023 report on Horse Racing Ireland’s 2019 and 2020 financial statements, drew attention to whether using the Fund to subsidise prize money is the best value for money and to how effective the Fund is in ensuring the highest levels of animal welfare standards. Indecon International Economic and Strategic Consultants began the review in December 2024 and its final report was sent to the committee on 12 November 2025, the Minister told the Dáil on 18 November 2025. He said then that an action plan had been developed and that the Department had begun engaging with the bodies concerned. The 13 October answer does not say which recommendations the extra money depends on, how delivery will be measured or what happens if it falls short.
Existing welfare conditions
In answers on 8 October 2026, the Minister said the Department has ringfenced 10% of the Fund allocation to RCÉ for welfare, including integrity, since 2020, and that RCÉ has significantly exceeded that each year. He said RCÉ’s traceability system, introduced in January 2021, covered 64,676 greyhounds as of June 2026.
In a second answer that day, the Minister said his Department was closely examining surgical artificial insemination of greyhounds and would advise on an appropriate course of action in the near future. The practice remains provided for under the Artificial Insemination of Greyhound Regulations 2005, although the Veterinary Council of Ireland changed its code of conduct in April 2024 to bar vets from performing it on other dogs. RCÉ consulted the industry on draft regulations, including on artificial insemination, in a consultation that closed on 16 January 2026.
Equanine’s reading
- The increase for RCÉ is small, about €0.6 million, but linking it to the Indecon recommendations signals that State money for Irish greyhound racing is becoming conditional on welfare and integrity delivery.
- Track operators, breeders and owners should watch for the conditions attached once the action plan is applied to RCÉ, since the answer does not set them out.
- A decision on surgical artificial insemination is still pending and would affect breeding practice in a sector where it remains permitted for greyhounds but not for other dogs.
