Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have a lot of food for thought here. I thank all the witnesses. As Mr. Iceton said, Ireland is the home of the horse and yet we see an attitude and behaviour towards horses that could undermine it. None of us could accept that. It is not all about funding but funding is a very important component of it because nothing can be done without money and resources. As with any implementation plan, we need targets and goals and the money to be used in the best possible way to achieve that. We received a couple of shockers today, particularly in regard to what Ms Owen said about the movement of horses on to the island without any control. It seems unbelievable that this could happen with such a large animal. It is not like moving mice. We have a bit of work to do. We must finish this series of hearings in the autumn and make a recommendation to the Minister, the Department and other Ministers regarding how best to address the issue so that the reputation of the sport horse and the thoroughbred industry is protected.

We were shown pictures today of poorly and emaciated former racehorses. When a horse is in good form, be it at the RDS, the Curragh or Leopardstown, one can tell if it is a good racehorse, showjumper or eventer, but when it is emaciated one cannot distinguish what it was, regardless of whether it was a top class breed or could hardly perform. Once it is cruelly treated, that is the end of it. It is an animal that has been mistreated and we cannot tolerate that. Many of the committee members are farmers, so we understand what it is. Our viability depends on minding animals, apart from the fact that it is bred into us, if I can use that phrase, to do so. There is a keen interest among the members and the witnesses will have gathered that from the questions that were asked.

Again, I thank everybody. This is probably the last meeting before the Dáil rises for the summer recess. I thank the committee secretariat, the members of the committee and the broadcasting personnel for their assistance during this term. I hope to see everybody back next September. I will adjourn the meeting sine diebecause I am not sure of the date of the next meeting and one does not know what emergency might arise that we will have to deal with.