Ms Sharon Power:

In response to Deputy Ó Cuív first, in our experience urban horse communities are not just Travellers; it very much depends on the area. For example, in most areas of Dublin, the horse-owning community is a settled community, and the same is true of parts of Limerick. Other parts of Limerick have second-generation Travellers. In some of the bigger towns around the country and outside of towns, there are Traveller communities.

The way forward is for structured horse projects working in conjunction with the local authorities and providing education. That is the key to solving the problems in the long term. However, in our experience there is a need for ongoing management by a committee of the stakeholders or other groups. The Deputy also asked if most of the horses were abandoned, neglected or abused. Most horses that are abandoned are simply abandoned. They are seldom well cared for and the more cruel actions take place in urban areas, which relate to over-use, misuse and cruelty.

Senator Mary Ann O'Brien asked about funding and the funding models for running courses and providing education. I probably should have pointed out earlier that we do get some funding from the horse industries and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine but almost three quarters of our funding comes from fund-raising and donations. In terms of running courses, we have funding this year, for example, from the Department to run two courses which cost approximately €5,000 each. I will hand over to my colleague, Ms Owens, to speak about the costs involved in our most recent horse projects and that will give the Senator an idea of costs. In general, once there is land available from a local authority, the costs of running a horse project are not significant.

Deputy Heydon asked about horses being in urban areas. Nobody wants horses in urban areas as it is not a suitable environment for a horse and it is a very dangerous one. The very first time I went to Moyross, I said that people in towns should not have horses and that they should be all removed, much as the Deputy said. However, 20 years on, I realise that system has failed. From working in disadvantaged areas, where a lot of horse-owning communities are based, I realise there is a genuine passion for horses among many of them, which could be harnessed for educational purposes and also to solve the urban horse problem, not to mention other issues such as helping with anti-social behaviour and drug prevention. We have a testimonial, for example, from the Garda youth diversion project in Moyross which states that the Irish Horse Welfare Trust horse project was the single most effective way of engaging with marginalised young people. Other agencies also help to fund courses such as the HSE, the Garda youth diversion projects and community groups.

Deputy Naughten asked about consultation on the changing of the statutory instrument. We were not consulted on that. The massive number of horses that have been destroyed has not been mentioned in the three-year period up to 2014. I believe between 60,000 and 70,000 horses were destroyed. That is worth mentioning at this meeting.

Deputy Naughten also asked about the expansion of courses to a wider group. That would be ideal if it were possible. There is a large population of young people with a passion for horses who could take up a career involving horses. That should be used as something positive, as we could potentially provide grooms and riders in the future as well as addressing issues of horse ownership in urban areas. We would be quite happy to enter a service level agreement with the Department or with any other local authority to help set up projects. We have offered the service previously but initial engagement between communities and local authorities is often difficult and can be a stumbling block.