Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will put my final few questions together. Obviously there are consequences now that the abattoir is shut down. It leaves people with two options - one, to abandon the horse or two, to export it. Did the Department consider the possibility of stepping in and running the show at Shannonside Foods, and running the abattoir as opposed to shutting it down? Due to the consequences of export and abandonment because the operations are shut down, I presume that means the Department will move the investigation as quickly as possible. I presume whoever is running the investigation has been given a timeframe of when it should conclude. It would be good to know that, if possible.

Mr. Sheahan made it clear there were five complaints about the premises in recent years and from what he stated at the Committee of Public Accounts meeting last week was that most, if not all, of those complaints concerned individual horses or animals. The look of them or them being skeletal or whatever was the issue was that was reported. When the Department officials went out and looked at those horses, were photographs of those horses taken at that time? Will Mr. Sheahan confirm whether the five complaints were all concerned with individual animals and not any one building?

I presume there was never a complaint about potential, possible or alleged violence on the premises?