Ms Martina Kenny:

The Deputy asked whether the problems are mainly urban or rural. In urban areas, the problems are in parks, backyards and so on. There are certain areas all around Ireland that have horses in them and it is very hard on the councils and gardaí. In rural areas, the problems would be on large farms where the farmer just breeds and breeds. There would be a few stallions in with some mares and they just keep breeding and it gets out of control. They will then sell whatever survives. On the basis of the kind of cases that we attend with the Garda, I would say that urban and rural areas are very much equal.

On the local authorities, a lot of them have taken the problem on board and have taken us on board. They are really listening. I will be in Kilkenny tomorrow with Kilkenny County Council which is trying really hard. We are working with two sets of Traveller communities. There is a huge horse issue in what is a small and very compact city and we are trying to deal with that. There is a lot happening, even in terms of education. Even though we are only a small organisation with five staff, we do a lot. Lots of schools contact us because they enjoy it. Ours is not a place where the animals are kept behind bars. It is very much a walk-around place where people can pet a pig or a goat. That has changed people's attitudes and helped them, in many ways. That is where the education part fits in. We are very much hands-on with the animals and that is very important for mental health, among other things.