Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate that Sinn Féin will be supporting this Bill and I thank the Rural Independent Group for bringing forward this legislation. In a Dáil debate on 13 December 1977, the then Deputy from Limerick, the late Mick Lipper, raised the issue of wandering horses in Limerick and asked what actions the then Minister for Justice would take, if he proposed to take any action, regarding the serious problem created by wandering horses in Limerick city.

Here we are some 43 years later talking about the same problems. At least 1,120 wandering or stray horses have been collected in Limerick since 2015. Most of them, unfortunately, end up being euthanised. This is a waste of Garda and council resources, as well as time and money. From a response which I got from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to a previous parliamentary question, I know the Department has contributed almost €12 million to local authorities in respect of activities regarding the control of horses from 2011 to 2016. Of this amount, €1.8 million was paid to Limerick City and County Council.

I believe that a State-wide approach is needed in regulating sulky racing. Such regulation is needed to protect sulky riders, other road users and to ensure the welfare of animals. The keeping of ponies and horses has long been a tradition in many parts of my home city of Limerick. It is a tradition which has passed through generations of families and for the most part, the animals are well maintained and cared for. I know many of these people and they are decent and good citizens of Limerick. Someone like Ger Hogan, and his horse, probably saved the lives of people in Limerick during the floods of 2014. Respecting these traditions, I believe it is time to consider an equine centre within Limerick city, one which can be accessed by all.

Having said that, however, we cannot ignore that there are many who use and basically abuse these animals. They have a lack of compassion towards animals and treat these beautiful creatures cruelly. Many have no tradition whatsoever of keeping horses. In the past week or so, I had to contact the authorities in Limerick twice in order that the carcases of dead horses could be removed. One horse was malnourished and had abrasions throughout its body. It was an awful sight to see and, unfortunately, images of this poor animal were circulated on social media. Another young pony lay dead in a city estate. Fortunately, some local residents covered the carcase with a blanket so the children in the area did not see the full extent of the poor creature's injuries. A person had to intervene on Saturday to have those remains removed from a busy city estate.

In another part of our city, horses were left in the city graveyard. I believe they were put there intentionally. They were uncared for and grazing within the confines of the graveyard. The horses damaged the site and deterred those who wished to visit the resting place of their loved ones. This flagrant disregard for the welfare of the animals and the wishes of the visitors to the graveyard was shameful.

Wandering horses have been an issue in Limerick for many years. It is shameful that the situation has been allowed to continue for decades. In some cases, the authorities have been met with threats of violence when they have attempted to seize abused animals. This is not fair or proportionate but is what happens when the law is not applied year after year and that is a result of the Department not doing its job. It is now a major problem in some of our towns and cities in the State. Interestingly, this problem is largely associated with working class areas of Limerick, Cork and Dublin cities, as well as areas of rural Ireland such as Tipperary. If these horses were wandering around Montenotte in Cork, Foxrock in Dublin or the North Circular Road in my native city of Limerick, I suspect that there would be a different definition of a fair and proportionate response. We have seen the videos of unregulated sulky races. We do not need to be a member of the traffic corps to understand the danger in which these races place the participants and other road users.

These races place the Garda in an extremely difficult and conflicted position. Gardaí know they must stop the race to protect other road users as often these races take up both sides of the road. However, they are faced with a tough decision when it comes to intervening. If they do take direct action, they risk the welfare of the animals, the riders and other road users.

I appreciate the intention of this Bill but I am concerned about some aspects of it. First, some of the definitions contained in it are too broad and, in some cases, contradictory. Second, the Garda is empowered to deal with illegal sulky racing and riding and I am concerned that introducing a new Ministry into the policing of sulky racing could cause operational problems.

I would like to see more Garda enforcement in terms of illegal sulky racing on our streets. In Limerick, road users get frustrated and anxious when they have to decide whether to stay behind or overtake a sulky that is often controlled by somebody who is too young to drive a car. There is a tradition around sulky racing and we should recognise that, but we must also respect the safety of all road users. It is not acceptable to have underage children controlling an animal or vehicle on public roads.

Animal welfare remains a big issue across urban and rural areas. This year, thus far, in Limerick 118 horses have been seized. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them were euthanised. There have been numerous documented cases of disgraceful abuse and cruelty to horses both within Limerick and further afield. We need better enforcement of animal welfare laws and more support for animal welfare groups. In Limerick, one such group is Limerick Animal Welfare, which does tremendous work and deals with all types of animals. When I speak to the wonderful people who operate this organisation, I am struck by the volume of calls it receives monthly. Regrettably, all too often when it comes to horses and ponies, all it can do is contact somebody to ensure the animal's life is terminated in the most humane way possible.

This Bill needs greater exploration. The intentions of it are very good but I have concerns about its execution. I will support the Bill's passage to Committee Stage so that these particulars can be examined.

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