Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

On the behalf of the Minister, Deputy Heydon, I thank the Deputy for his dedication to this topic. The Minister agrees that more can be done in this regard. Both he and his Department are fully committed to progressing this work. I have to admit that I honestly was not aware of this practice until I was asked to cover this Topical Issue Debate this evening.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has lead policy responsibility within the Government for animal welfare and takes its role most seriously. There is a strong commitment to the policy that animal welfare standards are vigorously applied in a fair and even-handed manner. We know why such improvements had to be introduced in recent years, but they have been introduced. The Department keeps animal welfare legislation under review with respect to developments in the area of animal welfare and with regard to the practical lessons from operating the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.

The Deputy has asked a very fair question tonight with regard to when we can expect the conclusions and findings of a public consultation that has been closed for more than 12 months and whether that public consultation will feed into the legislative changes the Deputy is asking for. The honest answer is that I do not know. The Deputy has asked a fair question, which I will relate back to the Minister who has asked me to deputise for him this evening. I will ask for the Minister or his officials to come back directly to the Deputy with an answer to that fair question.

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