The Taoiseach suggested the Government was not inclined to revisit its policy on the redistribution of betting tax, following questions in the Dáil in relation to the matter.
Details of the FAI's specially commissioned report into the allocation of money raised from the betting levy has been submitted to Government, with the details published on Independent.ie.
The KHSK report highlighted areas of concern in relation to the use of the funding within the racing industry, while also questioning the stated figures around the employment generated.
Calculating that horse and greyhound racing account for at most 60% of the bets placed in Ireland, the report argues that football and other sports that are popular with gamblers are "effectively subsidising racing" via the €100m per annum levy.
Earlier this year, outgoing FAI chairperson Roy Barrett asserted that €1.5billion has been distributed to horseracing and greyhound racing to date, and is used solely to finance the racing industry.
Barrett called for a review into the distribution of taxes gathered from gambling in Ireland and felt that football should receive a substantial share based on the sports’ contribution.
"I just don’t agree with your approach on this," said Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, when the issue was raised by Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin.
"I wouldn’t pit sport against the equestrian industry in Ireland. There was a time where the budget for sport in Ireland was something like €7m. Now it’s going to be €150m and we’re going to continue to invest in sport. I don’t think you should pit sport against the equestrian industry.
"The equestrian industry, Horse Sports Ireland, stud farms… employs tens of thousands of people. It’s worth around a billion euros per year. If you want to do them down, don’t pit them against sport, that’s not fair."
Speaking to RTÉ Sport in January, Barrett said that "since 2001, all of the proceeds from the betting levy have gone, in proportion, 80:20, by legislation, to horse racing and greyhound racing. That’s just over €1.5bn that’s going to those two sports".
"Where have they spent the money?," Barrett pondered. "Over 60% of that is in prize money, for a sport which is, let’s just say, isn’t growing and some could argue is in decline."
Previous motions in the Dáil to review funding for the racing industry were voted down last year.
