Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The final part of my question was about funding provided for the Control of Horses Act in Cork in 2022. The same year saw an 80% cut in funding spent on the control of horses compared with 2017. Only €1,895 was spent in 2022 whereas €11,000 was spent in 2017. This can be seen on the ground, with horses that are not being cared for and some cases of unbelievable cruelty against these animals. My office is contacted by people who are crying out for the control of horses and enforcement of the Act and refer to graphic scenes of the conditions of these beautiful animals. We contact An Garda Síochána and the pound. To be fair to An Garda Síochána, it is doing its best, but we need a much stronger enforcement of the Act.

What is the Minister doing to ensure local authorities, An Garda Síochána and everyone else are part of this? Horses, beautiful animals, are to be left in fields with the summer coming. We have seen times when horses died because of mistreatment or not being fed, watered or looked after. Will the Minister look at that and ensure the enforcement is delivered?

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