Time to pulp the paperwork as 'strategic plans' are exposed as vacuous corporate frippery

In a giveaway budget largely defined by the short-term economics of feathering as many nests as possible on the eve of an election, racing wasn't missed. 

Much of the cash splashed by Ireland's outgoing coalition government on Tuesday is being spent on one-off gifts, wrapped in packages with cost-of-living ribbons on them, rather than more structural policies that might address deep-rooted societal issues such as housing and rental crises or a creaking healthcare system. 

In that context, Horse Racing Ireland's four per cent increase in funding from €76 million to almost €79.3m was a significant win because the days of it being a populist cause are long gone.