Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I believe the Minister of State, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and the Department are taking this very seriously. However, I have a few questions. Regarding my question about Shannonside Foods Limited and whether it should continue to be operating, my view is that it should close until we have more clarity about the evidence we saw last night. If it is to remain open, it needs to be under the supervision of the Department and Department vets, and I think this is possible. If closure means we have a glut of horses that need to be slaughtered and cannot be, there are also issues there that need to be addressed, but under no circumstances should this company continue to operate as it did under the management and staff we saw on our screens last night until a final investigation is concluded.

Do we have a timeline for that investigation and the piece of work that clearly needs to be done by Ireland in conjunction with other EU countries regarding some of the other issues that were raised? Let us not forget that the food fraud division of the European Commission has now issued an alert for horses slaughtered in Ireland, Italy and Spain because it is convinced there is evidence that animals that should have been removed from the food chain have not been. In other words, their identities have been falsified. That in itself is a reputational issue that needs a very clear and firm response from the Department and the State generally.

My final question is complicated but is one that needs to be raised. What conversations have taken place with our counterparts in Northern Ireland about ensuring the trade in horses is not happening inappropriately or illegally, taking advantage of an open border on the island of Ireland? Some valid questions were raised about this issue last night that need to be addressed comprehensively. This is an opportunity for us to do a comprehensive job on how horses are treated when they are at the end of their lives. We have many horses each year, especially coming from the racing industry and the horse sport industry, and we need to ensure they are treated with respect and that when they are put down, it is done in an acceptable way that is transparent. There is much work to do on the back of the evidence we saw last night.

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