Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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My last question, if the Cathaoirleach will permit me, is in the same vein of dual responsibility and who has jurisdiction. It is frustrating in my county, and I know the situation is replicated around the country, that when equines are on the loose, local authorities and the Departments spend a few days trying to figure out if they are on public or private land, whether we can go in and, if we can, who should go in. The Garda receives calls at the same time. There seems to be a breakdown for a few days as we try to identify the responsible body. There are different sections and legislation. There should be a mechanism to iron that out sooner. Local authorities and Departments can identify land ownership quite quickly. We need to move quicker.

When I grew up, we did not have any land so we did not have a horse. Some people nowadays think they have a God-given right to have a horse and to put it wherever they want. They might even put it in the front living room of a local authority house, tethered to the local signpost or running amok in the local retail park. There is no apology for that. There should be no acceptance of it. The law is quite robust in terms of horse ownership and welfare. Our guests, as representatives of local authorities and the Department of agriculture, need to move in and take some of those horses, ensure they are microchipped and look at their welfare. I am seeing far too many horses tethered to poles and with their ribcages showing. There is no culture or right that allows you a God-given right to own a horse. If you do not have the land and are not prepared to pay for livery or cannot pay someone to mind the horse or to lease land, you should not have a horse.