Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last night's "RTÉ Investigates", which I also watched, showed really horrifying footage of welfare abuses on a farm premises adjacent to the sole horse slaughter plant in Ireland, as well as potential breaches of traceability rules in Ireland and member states across the EU. The behaviour seen last night is utterly unacceptable. It is disgusting and entirely inconsistent with the framework of EU and national laws that are there to protect the welfare of animals. I am certain the vast majority of decent people who care for horses and the vast majority of decent people who were watching the television last night were horrified by the scenes that were broadcast. It is important to stress that what we saw was potentially criminal behaviour by a number of individuals.

The Department of agriculture has already started an investigation into the matter with the support of An Garda Síochána. The full force of the law will be brought to bear in these matters. Protecting animal welfare is extremely important and the Department takes its responsibilities very seriously. There are in excess of 200 authorised officers under the animal welfare Act who carry out welfare inspections in every county. A total of 167 prosecutions have been taken under the Act since it entered into law in 2013 and a number of other investigations are ongoing.

As Deputy Coveney said, the protection of the integrity of the food chain is vitally important and the Department applies a systematic and robust series of controls at the slaughter plants in Straffan to verify compliance. These include having a full-time presence providing oversight in the slaughter facility on the days on which slaughter takes place; the carrying out of veterinary ante mortem and post mortem examinations of the horses; and undertaking identity and traceability checks carried out in accordance with our legal obligations. Ultimately, it is the case that even when these robust systems are in place, illegal activity can occur if someone is prepared to engage in fraud.

The Department of agriculture takes such matters extremely seriously and will continue to investigate and prosecute for breaches or fraudulent activity related to animal welfare and identification. The activities shown on last night's report as regards identification and traceability show what would appear to be illegal activities which impact on traceability both at home and across Europe. It is clear that a collective effort across the EU among member states and the Commission is required to further improve the traceability system. The Department is committed to helping that process along with our European colleagues and the European Commission.

In terms of equine traceability, Ireland operates within the requirements set down in EU law and our system is fully in compliance with the requirements. The Department of agriculture has made improving equine traceability a priority in recent years and, as a result, there have been a number of significant advances in the traceability of horses.

A central equine database was introduced in 2013. Improved security features on equine passports were put in place in 2014, and the Department made it a legal requirement in that year to register all equine premises. These developments, particularly the recent ones relating to technology and e-passports, will continue to move equine traceability forward. However, it is clear that where individuals are determined to breach the law, they will try to do so and it is up to the Department and An Garda Síochána to ensure this full investigation results in the full force of the law being applied to anybody who broke the law in these egregious and outrageous circumstances.

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