Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 18 June 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Animal Welfare and the Control and Management of Horses: Discussion

Photo of Rose Conway WalshRose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I am sorry that I was delayed in the Seanad. I wish to focus on a couple of points. Reference was made to carrying out independent research. I can identify with that in the sense that there is much anecdotal information and there needs to be a comprehensive research report not just into the symptoms but the causes leading to the situation where so many healthy horses are put down. Reference was made to "supplying the food chain, an activity which is now highly regulated". Could Mr. McGrath please expand on that for me?

I too commend the work of the voluntary organisations, in particular the former Mayo county councillor, Gerry Ginty, who has done an enormous amount of work involving the care of horses. He is well recognised for it. He is no longer a councillor as he did not run in the recent local election but that was one of his key areas of work.

Research is needed because as well as thinking outside the box about horses, it could be combined with the research that has already been done on the value of equine-assisted activities and therapies for children and young adults with autism. There is already some research that shows the value of such activities and we need to add to that. If we were to use this research and target the resources properly, we could put many of those healthy horses to use in social enterprises. It has been proven that working with horses can help to improve not only the physical make-up of young people with autism but their communication skills and behaviour as well. Perhaps the witnesses could tell me who needs to instruct that research.

What are the mandatory holding periods in secure pounds at the moment? It was said that a task force for rigorous enforcement was being set up between local authorities, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Garda. Whose responsibility or duty would it be to set that up and to make a similar task force workable in the local authorities? At the end of the day, much of the responsibility is left with the local authorities. It is not only a matter of resources, although more resources are needed, because until we get that piece of research, we will not know exactly where the resources need to be deployed and we will be unable to quantify the resources needed by each local authority. There are also inconsistencies between what different local authorities would demand. Having one veterinarian in each local authority does not seem to be sufficient for the job that needs to be done here.

I welcome the opportunity for this presentation. We need to find out who is responsible for implementing this research and how it will be done. We also need to enable the local authorities rather than simply heaping the problem on them. The key requirement is to look outside the box and further afield because otherwise we will be having the same conversation about horses in ten, 15 or 20 years' time. We could potentially use the rural environmental protection scheme, REPS, or the mechanisms of the next Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, when it is negotiated, in a way that leads to better preservation of horses. We should also look at how we can better utilise our native horse breed, perhaps in the tourism sector.

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