Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I join my colleagues in wishing the Ceann Comhairle the very best in his term of office.

I wish to ask the Taoiseach about the animal health and welfare Bill which is listed in section C of promised legislation, the heads of Bills yet to be approved by Government. I ask about some of the so-called concessions agreed between Fianna Fáil and the Green Party last week with regard to animal welfare. These are included in what is termed the programme for Government but I would refer to it as an aspirational policy document. What does the Taoiseach intend will be included in this Bill? That document sets out the prospect of a ban on the culling of badgers, the phasing out of fur hunting and a reference to ending stag hunting. We are not quite clear on the time line for this. Will it be included in the Bill which is set out in promised legislation? Does the Taoiseach believe this is a serious series of measures for improving animal welfare or will it be just more window dressing which will not deal with real animal welfare issues? For example, my colleague, Deputy Andrew Doyle, today raised the issue of puppy farming which takes place in horrendous conditions and all around the country but which does not seem to have been included in the aspirational document last week.

These proposals have been much vaunted by the Green Party as one of the biggest achievements in the so-called programme for Government yet the document does not go any way towards addressing the real and serious issues of animal welfare. It also probably suggests that the Greens in Government, far from being the meat in the sandwich are probably a little more like the hummus within the toasted ciabatta.

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