Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I asked to raise this topic today because the Department seems to be unable to properly address the question I put to the Minister before. I will give an example. PAWS Animal Rescue is based in Mullinahone in County Tipperary, my constituency. At the moment, it is looking after greyhounds and lurchers among 13 different breeds of dog. That is just one snapshot in time. Like similar organisations and dog shelters right across the country, it operates on a shoestring budget. The measly grants given to such organisations are just not good enough. Last year, the Department allocated €48,500 towards PAWS Animal Rescue's costs but, as the Minister knows, that goes nowhere near covering the costs of these organisations. To give an example, so far this year, PAWS has paid €147,000 in veterinary bills. It has another outstanding bill of €55,000. The Minister of State can see how the small grant of €48,500 is swallowed up. It goes into its bank account one hour and is gone the next. If the animal welfare grant remains unchanged from last year, it will go into PAWS Animal Rescue's account and then straight back out, as I have said. It is still in debt. That is the extent of what the money will do for it. It appreciates the grants but they are just not adequate, nor do they reflect the extent of the work the organisation does or the cost of doing it.

The Minister of State will have heard that the pressure on animal welfare organisations has been increasing in recent times for various reasons. We are now coming into Christmas and I urge people not to buy pups or other pets for children. If they are looking for something, they should go to these shelters because buying animals will only add more pressure at the end of the Christmas season. The situation at PAWS has been such that it has recently had to close its doors to any new animals being brought in because it just has no room and lacks the funds it needs.

I asked the Minister a parliamentary question and he responded that "Awards for funding are made on the basis of objective criteria, including the level and type of assistance provided by the organisation in the delivery of care and welfare services to animals and the level of funding raised by organisations from other sources to support welfare activities." I have a number of issues with that response. I was hoping the Minister would be here so that he could tell us what these objective criteria actually are. I hope I will be forgiven for saying that this is hardly appropriate given that the needs of each centre are subject to demand, the needs of dogs that are presented and the range of costs incurred. I would also appreciate if the Minister could give an answer as to precisely how these grant applications are assessed, either through the Minister of State's reply now or in writing later on. That is the question all of these organisations ask me. I am sure they ask other Deputies the same question. I am looking for a detailed response on that.

The Minister also referred to a programme for Government commitment to provide additional support for animal welfare. While the headline figure of €3.7 million may reflect an increase, I have been informed that 12 rescue centres received no increase in funding this year.

For them, the Minister's statement is meaningless. Perhaps the Minister of State will fill us in on that issue and let us know why 12 centres did not receive any funding increase.

I hope the sentiments expressed at the animal welfare seminar held on 5 October will be reflected in the funding for the coming year. What I expect to happen, however, is that the Department's approach will follow in the same vein as in previous years. Following that seminar, what can these organisations expect in December?

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