Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the Bill. Earlier this was described as progressive legislation and on close examination it is easy to see how this is the case. We are dealing with various strands of legislation which date back as far as 1911. When one sees some of the references we seek to change and how antiquated they are, the Bill is not before time.

Invariably in the past the focus has been on animal cruelty as opposed to the issue of welfare. The Bill deals with both and they are inextricably linked. From a farmer's point of view the issue of welfare is no longer a dirty word. It had been perceived as being connected with red tape and regulation. When we realise how important our food export industry is, we see that the more strides we can take to protect the industry's good name and show the highest standards in animal welfare will enhance and improve our already good reputation as a food island. The targets of Food Harvest 2020 include increasing our food exports to €12 billion a year. At present we feed 35 million people throughout the world with Irish food and our target is to increase this figure to 40 million. This is the scale we are dealing with and it is over and beyond agriculture. It is about the overall economy because agriculture feeds into every community.

When I first heard about the Bill from a farming point of view I had concerns because one thinks of regulation, red tape and more inspections. Farmers need to take great comfort from the fact that huge strides have been made in recent times. Farmers will be the first to state huge improvements have taken place in animal welfare and issues which existed in the past have been eradicated. Over the past ten years we have had collaboration between departmental officials and representatives from the IFA and the ISPCA. On the rare occasion a farmer may be in difficulty and there may be the potential for animals to be in distress down the line preventative measures can be taken and this is working very well. This started in Wexford and has been rolled out. Where a farmer is in difficulty fodder can be obtained and various measures can be taken. Therefore I see many of the measures in the Bill impacting more on urban areas than rural areas.

Farmers are custodians of the land but they are also caretakers of animals. They care for their animals every day of the year from Christmas Day through the height of the summer when everyone else is on holidays. The animals do not know it is holiday time and they must be looked after. Nobody wants to look after them more than farmers and nobody is in a better position to do so. This is why many measures in the Bill are to be welcomed.

I referred to legislation dating back to 1911. According to the 1911 Act, where an animal is extremely badly injured or very diseased and needs to be put down for a humane reasons a police constable may seek the nearest veterinary officer. When one hears such language one realises how old the legislation is. In such humane circumstances we need to make it easier for the farmer on hand or an authorised officer to be able to deal with it for the good of the animal as much as anything else.

I acknowledge the Minister ensuring that no extra cost will be borne by the farmer. Already farmers pay towards the price of tagging and levies for TB and brucellosis. Farmers cannot afford to pay extra for this and I am happy the measures in the Bill go a long way towards this. Where breaches occur the Bill strengthens the fines and this is good. The fact that the fines are graduated gives an element of fairness. A strong message is definitely being sent out with regard to how seriously we take animal welfare and this is very important.

From a code of practice point of view the Bill provides greater flexibility. We have needed to amend primary legislation to make any changes and the Bill will greatly free up the hand of the Minister to act in consultation with the relevant groups. This is important. Balance is very important and we need to be careful because we must be mindful that in years to come the present Minister will not be in office and we must ensure that safeguards exist for the good of the industry in case the role is filled by individuals with a very strong ideology. The good of the industry must always come first and I am happy this is the case.

Codes of practice are used more throughout Europe than they are here and I am very excited about how they can be rolled out. The Minister referred to a reduction in red tape through the introduction of on-the-spot fines and this will be very helpful. It has the potential to make savings across the board. Safeguards are in place and if people want to go down the traditional legal route through the court system they still can, but being able to accept an on-the-spot fine as a graduated measure is an improvement.

With regard to the officers being empowered I see this measure affecting urban areas more than rural areas where there is a deficiency. Some of these empowered inspectors could be trained from non-governmental bodies. There must be an understanding that at present our limited Garda resources mean where incidents occur there is a wait for a garda to arrive, which can take a significant length of time if another situation has arisen. Instead of increasing bureaucracy and red tape we can find efficiencies with the appropriate measures.

With regard to animal fighting, including dogfighting and cockfighting, the change in the law to association from participation is crucial. I totally oppose these activities and I am happy to hear how strongly we will act.

To return to the issue of balance, we must be very careful. People can take a very strong approach to animal safety measures and try to cover all aspects such as trying to stop people who want to go fishing from taking worms out of the ground. One can go too far and unintended consequences can arise. If the means of farmers or others to protect wild animals are curtailed too much they may be left with no alternative but to use poison, which is far more indiscriminate. With the best of intentions we can end up with a much worse consequence. I look forward to the Bill coming before the relevant committee and dealing with the nitty-gritty of it. I commend the Bill to the House and I thank the Minister.

See this speech in context