TD will fight any National Stud sell-off
Local FG TD Deputy Martin Heydon says he will oppose any attempts to sell off the National Stud, as recommended in the McCarthy Report on State Assets.
Describing it as the 'flagship' of the bloodstock industry, which employs over 17,000 people and is worth almost €1bn to the national economy, he says the National Stud is the key to maintaining a 'competitive advantage' in the industry over countries like the UK and France.
Deputy Heydon also says the facility is a 'rock on which we can develop new tourist initiatives for the area'. “It is our foremost tourist attraction in the county with in excess of 100,000 visitors in 2010 and employs up to 70 people at peak times. It is estimated that its presence in the county contributes to economic activity of €7/8m.”
He says he has made representations to both Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney and Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar to stress to them the importance of the National Stud and will continue to do so. “At a time when Ireland needs to find new industries at which we excel, it seems ridiculous to downsize one that already exists," he says.
