Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank everybody who contributed to the Second Stage debate and I look forward to what I know will be a very long Committee Stage. A number of those who spoke in this debate are passionate about this issue and I want to try to take on board, where possible, their concerns. However, I must also try to provide balance. There is a series of conflicting views on what constitutes the right balance where activities such as hare coursing are concerned, and I will address this in some detail in a moment.

The badger culling programme, which is part of the TB eradication programme, has been hugely successful over the past ten years in terms of the number of reactors in Ireland which has more than halved from more than 40,000 to approximately 18,500 this year. That is a far more impressive record than anything that has happened in the UK or Northern Ireland. We are doing something right but I would like to see a time when we can move away from having targeted culling of badgers to having a vaccination programme. We are planning for that but we must also remain determined to eradicate TB. Regardless of whether we like it, badgers carrying TB are a major contributory factor to the spread of the disease.

I can send Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan a note on the detail around that culling, how it operates, the equipment we use for it, the independent assessment of the use of that equipment and the damage it does or does not do to badgers, because I know she is concerned about it. I think she will be somewhat reassured by that, but some badger snaring is being done by non-departmental staff which is totally unacceptable. I would not defend that for one second but I will defend the programme my Department runs, supervises and independently monitors in terms of the use of equipment to capture badgers in a way which maximises the humanity of that catching, the assessment of the badgers caught and their removal and appropriate disposal afterwards. Nobody likes to see animals being put down and I can assure the Deputy this only happens in targeted areas where there is evidence to suggest that badgers are contributing to the spread of TB.

This Bill is an enormous step forward for animal welfare and health in Ireland. The primary legislation under which we operate dates back to 1911 and is outdated. This Bill is concerned with making the shift from outlawing cruelty to animals to putting a new legislative infrastructure in place which ensures animal health and welfare is respected and protected in law. That means people who have a responsibility for animals have a legal obligation under this legislation to look after those animals in a way that is acceptable in a modern country. That is where the five freedoms, if one wants to use that reference point, are relevant and are the basis for this legislation.

There are all manner of other positive spin-offs for the country in terms of the agrifood sector, our reputation and so on. As a self-professed animal lover, I think that, morally, this is something we should be doing anyway. It has been a long time in gestation. The two officials with me have been working on this for a long time and have done a very good job in putting a very complex set of Acts into one piece of legislation and updating and modernising it where possible. We need to make political judgment calls in regard to some of the more contentious areas such as hare coursing, fur farming, the treatment of feral cats and whether we should export animals from Ireland to other countries, to which I will refer.

I wish to refer to some of what Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan raised because she has stayed to listen to the response. I will deal with a lot of the other concerns on Committee Stage when Deputies are there to hear it. The project in which I, Coolmore Stud and others are involved to help China to create and build a horseracing industry and all the standards that go with that is a very positive contribution to equine management and welfare in another state like China. In fact, that project is developing in a very positive way and will involve selling in foal mares to China. The sending of mares to Tianjin, north of Beijing, where the project is being put together, has been delayed because Coolmore Stud was not happy that the stabling conditions and the space were acceptable at this stage. It has therefore deferred the sending over of those mares until it is absolutely happy it can stand over it.

I reassure people that we are not in the business of expanding sectors at the expense of animals or their welfare or care - in fact, quite the opposite. We want to export the best practice and know-how which we have developed in Ireland over the past 50 years and which have reached a global leading standard.

We want to export that expertise and some of our animals to help other countries develop the standards we expect. I would take a tough line to prevent the export of Irish animals to any part of the world if I believed they were heading into an abusive situation but I genuinely do not think that is the case. Those who are developing the industry in China and the many other countries to which we export horses are seeking to build the expertise and standards we have come to expect in welfare as well as quality breeding.

I have asked my Department for a review of the fur farming industry. Ireland has a relatively small number of fur farms. Whether I like something or not is irrelevant and the question is not one of simply outlawing fur farming, which some people would like us to do, but whether we should regulate to insist on best practice. I will be making proposals on new regulations for fur farming which will involve random inspections and a set of standards that can allay some of the concerns people have expressed and although some maintain that the only to deal with the issue is to ban it I have made the judgment call not to pursue that option at this stage. Banning fur farming would have the consequence of being required to compensate the industry to the tune of between €10 million and €12 million. That is money that I simply do not have but even if I had it I am not sure the case has been made for shutting down the industry if it is properly regulated and if we can provide evidence that it is a form of farming like any other intensive production method.

I respect everybody's views on the issue of hare coursing. I will not take the high moral ground on either side. This is a sector which needs tight regulation but I do not consider it is appropriate to simply ban the practice because people are uncomfortable with it. There are strongly held views on both sides of the argument and I am trying to find an acceptable balance. If there is evidence that coursing is taking place in an appropriate way along the lines set out in the Bill we will take action, and the same goes for hunting. However, it is not appropriate to simply outlaw hare coursing and hunting when they are pursued according the to the codes of conduct drawn up by clubs. Considerable numbers of people are passionate about these pursuits and my job is to ensure that standards are met rather than simply outlawing practices.

In regard to neutering, Deputies will be glad to hear that despite all of last year's cutbacks we increased the funding available to animal welfare organisations. A large number of people dedicate their lives to animal welfare organisations and rescue centres. I happen to own a rescued dog. These organisations and people deserve the State's support but they also need to operate to acceptable standards. Sometimes people's enthusiasm and compassion results in their taking on a workload of animal care that they do not have the capacity to manage and that has led to other problems. We have now linked the funding from my Department for animal welfare organisations with a requirement that they meet a code of practice and a standard of care built around the five freedoms for animals. I consider this appropriate and hope other Members will support me on it.

On the issue of authorised inspections, I would like to provide reassurance and information to the House. Little, if anything, is changing from an agricultural point of view. The people who inspect farms are officials from my Department who understand farming and all of its complexities and they will continue to be responsible for inspecting farms, speaking with farmers and imposing standards that allow us to take appropriate action against the rare farmer who is unwilling or unable to look after his or her animals. We will go through the Bill's provisions in this area in detail on Committee Stage. We are primarily speaking about departmental and local authority vets in this regard but further work and resources are needed in the area of caring for domestic animals. There is a role for veterinary nurses, for example, if they want to volunteer to join panels of inspectors, and for proven animal welfare workers, whether from the ISPCA, the Dogs Trust Ireland or any other NGO that has proven its worth and can make a significant contribution in responding to the calls my Department receives on its freefone helpline from individuals who have comments or complaints about the abuse of animals.

This is a strong Bill which takes a hard line against practices such as dog and cock fighting and badger baiting while trying to deal with tricky and difficult areas in which differences of opinion arise. The views of those both inside the Pale and outside of it are equally legitimate and it is my job to find a balance that protects animals while at the same time understanding that certain sports in rural Ireland should have a future. We have tried to reassure the lobby and representative groups of all those involved as best we can in preparing this legislation. I commend the Bill to the House and look forward to a long and detailed Committee Stage debate in which I will try to accommodate people's concerns as much as is reasonable.

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