In December, Agriculture Minister Michael Creed claimed that the "greyhound industry employs over 10,300 people".
The figures, quoted at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, were ridiculed, with one politician describing it as "more than questionable" and "such a gross over-estimate that it's almost laughable" Willie Penrose TD, Dec 2016.
This week, in response to a Dail question from Maureen O'Sullivan TD, Mickey revealed that the number of people actually employed by Bord na gCon/the Irish Greyhound Board is nowhere near 10,300 - https://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2017-03-09a.68
"Bord na gCon has informed me that it currently directly employs 128 full-time staff and approximately 720 part-time staff," Minister Creed stated.
Minister Creed - who has been involved in greyhound racing and hare coursing (co-owning at least one greyhound with other Fine Gael TDs) - had presented the 10,300 jobs figure in an attempt to justify the government's major funding of the industry. This amounts to around a quarter of a billion euro since 2001, including a €16 million allocation for 2017.
So 10,300 or 848, a mixture of full and part-time staff, whatever that amounts to in whole-time equivalents (WTEs) in other State or semi-State bodies. It's less than 1/8th of the reported level of employment.
So should Mickey be turfed out for lying as he's been caught out in a whopper and a half or is it OK as he may not be on his own and was addressing a Committee held in the House rather than a full sitting of the Dáil?
The figures, quoted at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, were ridiculed, with one politician describing it as "more than questionable" and "such a gross over-estimate that it's almost laughable" Willie Penrose TD, Dec 2016.
This week, in response to a Dail question from Maureen O'Sullivan TD, Mickey revealed that the number of people actually employed by Bord na gCon/the Irish Greyhound Board is nowhere near 10,300 - https://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2017-03-09a.68
"Bord na gCon has informed me that it currently directly employs 128 full-time staff and approximately 720 part-time staff," Minister Creed stated.
Minister Creed - who has been involved in greyhound racing and hare coursing (co-owning at least one greyhound with other Fine Gael TDs) - had presented the 10,300 jobs figure in an attempt to justify the government's major funding of the industry. This amounts to around a quarter of a billion euro since 2001, including a €16 million allocation for 2017.
So 10,300 or 848, a mixture of full and part-time staff, whatever that amounts to in whole-time equivalents (WTEs) in other State or semi-State bodies. It's less than 1/8th of the reported level of employment.
So should Mickey be turfed out for lying as he's been caught out in a whopper and a half or is it OK as he may not be on his own and was addressing a Committee held in the House rather than a full sitting of the Dáil?