Ms Martina Kenny:

First of all we did maybe word it slightly wrong with the amount of horse owners. We do understand there are amazing horse owners out there. Some of our own volunteers – there are 70 of us – are in the racing industry and have beautiful horses and that without a doubt is the way it is. However, we deal with a great many abused and neglected horses. Just recently we came across a farm type of livery that had about 150 horses on it. Half of those horses were starved and neglected. Only last year we helped the gardaí in Kilkenny with another case where there were 110 horses starved and neglected. Those words, when they come through us, we are dealing with hundreds. Ireland is overpopulated with horses. There are a great many doing well. They are loved absolutely and they are beautiful horses. We were in Punchestown today showcasing War Celeste but a great many of the horses we deal with on a daily basis are in a terrible state. They are in our housing estates, on farms, everywhere. It is quite scary that one person would have so many. It is a case of the summer comes, see who makes it. They can be sold for little or nothing. We are sorry for saying that but we deal with an awful lot of such cases.

In regard to the children and the schools-----