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

On that, we have also increased the funding available to animal welfare organisations. Despite the fact that we have had to reduce expenditure on practically every heading for the reasons with which everybody is familiar, animal welfare organisations have seen a significant increase in the amount of financial supports they get, and it is because they need it. In the middle of a recession animals often get abused, and welfare organisations are busier now than they have ever been in the past.

On the standards issue, there are no horses slaughtered in the US. They are either taken up to Canada or down to Mexico. Large numbers of horses are imported from the US into Europe for the human food chain. My understanding is that they have to pass a series of tests before they enter that human food chain but we can only control the slaughtering facilities we have in the European Union through EU regulations. The inter-trade negotiations we have with the US are a different matter, but I agree with the Deputy that we should insist on a common standard.

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