Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I have listened attentively to all the contributions. I commend Deputy O'Sullivan and her colleagues on tabling the motion. As we gather here on the eve of world animal welfare day, and I consider the debate in all its contexts, there is more that unites us than divides us. It is a positive thing. There are probably issues on the extremes on which we will never agree but I will make some points from the perspective of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Anyone who breaks the law in respect of animal welfare issues will find no favour and no place to hide in the context of the Department. We take that position for many reasons. I was interested in Deputy Gino Kenny's contribution, and he made the point that a proper animal welfare system was impossible because our farming system was driven by profit. I ask Deputy Kenny to consider what would be the consequences for animal welfare were our farming system driven by poverty. I suggest they would be far more serious.

We have a regulatory legislative framework to deal with animal welfare abuses. I listened last night to Michael Gove, my counterpart in the UK, who told the Conservative Party conference that it needs to urgently update its animal welfare legislation. My predecessor, Deputy Coveney, did that in 2013 and updated legislation that went back beyond the foundation of the State. We now have regulations and law that are fit for purpose and that cover a combination of my Department, voluntary and charitable bodies working as designated officers under the legislation, as well as local authorities, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Garda Síochána. The law, by and large, is fit for purpose and there have been a substantial number of prosecutions both at a central level by my Department but also along the line locally, by Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine officials, by the Garda and by dedicated officers appointed under the legislation. By and large, we have the regulatory and legislative framework.

Deputy O'Sullivan referred to Ballinasloe and incidents of concern that were apparently highlighted there. The very fact that there are designated officers there, identifying and following up on concerns regarding animal welfare is proof in a way that the legislation is fit for purpose. Does the identification of cases and our prosecuting cases prove that our system is not working or does it prove that we are effective in dealing with these incidents as they arise? That is the challenge. Are we ahead of the game and in control of the matter or are we playing catch-up? I do not state there is any cause for complacency.

I return to the point made by Deputy Gino Kenny. Even only for reasons of commercial self-interest, it is in this country's financial interest to have the highest animal welfare standards. I have the privilege of being the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and I attend trade fairs and missions to promote Ireland as the food island, bearing in mind that not everyone in the places we sell our food is vegetarian, and our food includes meat and dairy products. Increasingly it is taken almost for granted and as a given that we produce safe, traceable, nutritious food, but increasingly in the markets where we want to be, those higher added value markets, we are asked about our animal welfare standards and our sustainability credentials.

This returns to the point made by Deputy Clare Daly, wearing a vegetarian badge of honour, about sustainability and greenhouse gases and cattle rearing systems. It is often not recognised that we are the most carbon-efficient producers of dairy products in the world. If we dismantle our dairy systems on some altar of climate change - and I am not a climate change denier; while we are global leaders in dairy, we need to do more - it will only be displaced by other countries which have a higher carbon footprint. This is equally the case in the beef industry. We are facing challenges in the context of the European Union and beef industry access to our markets from Mercosur countries. We are the fifth most carbon-efficient producer of beef in the European Union and are committed to doing more in this area, but if we sacrifice our industry it will be displaced by countries because we are the largest producer and exporter of beef in the northern hemisphere. It will be displaced by countries that produce it with a far higher carbon footprint. It is 33% of our greenhouse emissions but that is because we do not have the history of heavy industry possessed by other industrialised countries. We are reducing the carbon intensity, which itself is a signal of our commitment.

Ireland has a good record in caring for its animals. Unfortunately, instances of cruelty do occur. There has been significant progress in updating animal welfare legislation, particularly in the introduction of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, which provides for significant custodial sentences, up to five years in certain circumstances, and very substantial fines. That is the toolkit we use. That is for the worst circumstances. In other cases we need to work with people to ensure they address shortcomings but we are taking a significant number of prosecutions, largely due to my predecessor's efforts in improving that legislation.

Enforcement has been enhanced by a provision in the Act that allows some investigative powers to be given to members of NGOs. As I noted, some of those dedicated authorised officers under the legislation were present in Ballinasloe. My Department has been operating an animal welfare hotline since 2012 that facilitates confidential reporting of any suspicion of animal cruelty whether in farming, sport, recreation or domestic situations. I urge members of the public to continue to use it as means of drawing my Department's attention to instances of neglect. We will always follow up on those.

I wish to note the work of the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council. It is an independent advisory body to my Department, which identifies potential welfare cases before they arise on farms through its early warning intervention system for animal welfare cases which operates at national and county level and through which my Department has developed a very strong partnership with the IFA and representatives from the various county societies for the protection of animals. I reiterate the comments made by the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, in acknowledging the contribution of the animal welfare charities. The staff and volunteers of these organisations demonstrate commitment, professionalism and dedication in providing care and happy endings to abandoned and cruelly treated animals. Last December I provided €2.46 million to 137 animal welfare organisations and I will make further merited awards to these organisations that do invaluable work.

The total we have given since 2011 is more than €11.26 million. I wish we were in a position to give more because I do acknowledge that very often these charitable organisations which are out on the ground are able to do more effectively what the State could probably never replicate, and I salute their commitment and professionalism.

I also acknowledge the work carried out by some welfare bodies, in conjunction with local authorities and with financial support from the Department, to develop facilities for urban and Traveller horse populations. I was out with Deputy Gino Kenny at the project in Clondalkin, and what he failed to mention, which I am sure was an oversight, was the project was funded to the tune of €500,000 by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine as a recognition of the role it plays in education by and large, but also in addressing the fitting and rightful recognition of the urban horse in the overall recognition of our equine sector in particular, which has come through a particularly difficult period. I ascribe a lot of the animal welfare issues, and particularly equine welfare, that have arisen in recent years as a consequence of the crash and the poverty rather than the profit associated with it.

A number of other points were raised. In response to Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, the greyhound industry has been addressed by the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, and the need to address in a comprehensive fashion the concerns of the punters in terms of integrity in the greyhound racing industry is part of the new legislative framework that we will put in place.

Deputy Martin Kenny spoke about the domestic dog. Deputy Doyle turned to show me his screensaver, which is a picture of his family dog, and by coincidence my screensaver is a picture of my family dog. It sums up in a way the special position of the dog in our affection and animal welfare at the highest level.

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