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

I thank the Deputies for participating. There has been genuine engagement. I decided to initiate the Bill in the Seanad, where there was also a really good debate. The Bill has taken a great deal of time to process, but that has been a good thing. The approach has not been party political, which is how legislation which is not really about ideology, with the exception, I accept, of what for some are blood sports and for others rural pursuits, should be progressed. While we have not gone as far as some would like on that issue, we have gone some distance in the right direction to address the concerns of Deputies Clare Daly and Maureen O'Sullivan through regulations and provisions on legal action to require that standards are met in the digging out of foxes or fur farming.

I did not get a chance to address issues relating to badgers yesterday. I hope to move to a vaccination programme for badgers when I see that we can make that move without undermining our work on TB. Sometimes one has to make decisions that have animal welfare consequences in both directions. We do not want to see the incidence of TB increasing in Ireland again and must take the appropriate action to ensure that does not happen while limiting any impact on animal welfare. For that reason, we addressed in detail on Committee Stage the manner in which badgers are caught and put down in the targeted programme.

I thank my officials who have put a great deal of work into the Bill. The process began under the last Government, which it is important to recognise. It was a Bill I wanted to prioritise when I was given the opportunity to be a Minister. I feel very strongly about the issue. Deputy Clare Daly or Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan mentioned yesterday that a country could be judged by how it treats its animals because they do not necessarily bite back. That is true. The legislation is long overdue. It is ridiculous that we have had to respond to extreme cruelty and welfare issues with legislation that dates back almost 100 years. I was shocked, but not surprised, only last week when someone came to my office to report extreme issues related to the welfare of horses in Cork City. I sent veterinarians from my Department to investigate immediately and they attended with gardaí where they found a field in which there were the carcasses of three horses that had recently died. A further nine horses in the field were dying and there was a newly born foal. All of the animals had to be put down due to their condition. That is totally unacceptable. The Bill will deal with this type of issue.

In time, the regulations we introduce will see the introduction of microchips for horses and dogs which will allow us to ensure that severe instances of animal abuse or welfare issues can be dealt with through the rigours of the law. That is what we should be doing as we should with dog fighting or where people are unable or unwilling to accept their responsibility for looking after animals. A series of benchmarking regulations are provided for in the legislation as is the creation of a set of tools for gardaí, authorised officers and animal welfare organisations which will allow them to act in a fair, balanced and practical way to address welfare and cruelty issues in rural and urban environments. Everybody who has contributed to the debate has, therefore, done a good day's work. They have put in many hours over a prolonged period. I hope we can make the Bill law and that I can get on to bring the debate to committee to set the parameters and agree the specifics of the series of regulations and codes of conduct we intend to introduce.

I thank Deputies for their co-operation and seriousness and look forward to their support in making the legislation work.

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