I thank Deputy Quinlivan for raising this important matter. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is responsible for all policy and legislation in relation to the Control of Horses Act 1996. Operation of the Act comes under the remit of local authorities. Any report of welfare issues received by my Department, including breaches of the animal welfare legislation, is acted upon and investigated. Appropriate enforcement action where breaches or shortcomings are identified is undertaken by my Department and authorised officers are appointed under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, including but not limited to An Garda Síochána, customs agents, local authorities and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, NSPCA. Primary responsibility for protecting the welfare of equines rests with the owner or keeper. Under the Control of Horses Act 1996, local authorities may take a range of actions in relation to equines, including prohibiting horses in certain areas, issuing licences and seizing horses in contravention of the Act. These powers can be used in respect of straying horses, which includes horses put on land without the owner's permission, including public land as Deputy Quinlivan has described. Local authorities may also prosecute offenders. While my Department provides financial support to help local authorities with the costs of these seizures, local authorities are responsible for the operation of the Control of Horses Act. My Department collects information from local authorities on a quarterly basis in respect of the overall number of equines seized by them. The number of horses seized in Limerick in 2025 was 70. This number is down from 2024, when the number of horses seized was 87. The Government is fully committed to supporting sustainable initiatives in line with the programme for Government and Working Together for Animal Welfare, which is Ireland's animal welfare strategy for 2021 to 2025, with work progressing on the replacement strategy. As part of this commitment, my Department has continued to support urban horse projects nationwide, working with local authorities, charities and community stakeholders. These projects have proven very successful and are aimed specifically at equine welfare and marginalised communities. The projects can foster community leadership and education in responsible horse ownership for young people. An exemplar project of note is one which Deputy Quinlivan is familiar with. This is the Moyross project, which has been in operation since 2016 and has helped so many young people from disadvantaged communities. From 2015 to date, over €2.1 million has been spent on urban horse projects by my Department, with €170,000 allocated for these projects in 2026. The urban horse projects greatly benefit the welfare of equines and of young people from disadvantaged communities or backgrounds. There are seven live projects and my Department would welcome new submissions from local authorities to develop urban horse projects in their respective areas. In December 2025, my Department awarded funding of almost €6.5 million to 94 animal welfare charities throughout the country, under the animal welfare grants programme. Of that figure, just over €4 million was awarded to charities involved in the care and welfare of horses. More generally, in 2025 my Department published a report by Professor Paddy Wall on equine traceability and welfare, and has also prepared an action plan to implement its recommendations. The report by Professor Wall, which has 22 actions, is greatly advanced. I am working closely to ensure its implementation across a whole range of measures relating to urban horses and equines, and otherwise. What happens in this area is important. We completed a public consultation on the Department's animal welfare strategy in January. I am collating the many submissions we got on that. Equine welfare has featured in some of those points. That will feed into our new animal welfare strategy for 2026 to 2030.

Sentiment score: 0.23

I thank the Deputy for his dedication to this topic. He has raised it on more than one occasion. I absolutely agree that this issue merits attention. From my perspective, there is no shortage of resources being put in from my side. I take on board the Deputy's points about co-ordination. I am happy to work with other stakeholders - the Deputy mentioned An Garda Síochána, the county council and the different entities - to ensure we have a targeted response in key areas. I agree that there are as many people who are passionate about their horses in urban areas as there are in rural areas and they care for them greatly. However, in normal, everyday society, we need to have a clear understanding of what is acceptable activity and what is unacceptable activity in our urban areas, where many people live and share common spaces, and beyond. More important than that, and the legislation is clearly set down and comes under my Department, is the welfare of animals. We have lead responsibility for that issue. I take animal welfare seriously and committed to the policy that animal welfare standards are rigorously applied in a fair and even-handed manner. It can sometimes be about the need for additional measures to be legislated for in this House. It is sometimes about the implementation of legislation that exists. With the local authorities, the other relevant authorities and the Garda, there is a key role to play. My Department keeps animal welfare legislation under review with respect to the developments in the area of animal welfare and the practical lessons learned from operating the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department also operates a confidential animal welfare helpline, through which members of the public can report incidents of animal cruelty or neglect for investigation. We work with all the relevant stakeholders in that regard. I thank the Deputy for raising these points.

Sentiment score: 0.22