Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter in respect of wandering and malnourished horses in urban areas of Limerick. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is responsible for all policy and legislation in relation to the Control of Horses Act 1996. Operation of the Act comes under the remit of the local authorities though. Any reports of welfare issues received by the Department, including breaches of the animal welfare legislation, are acted upon and investigated.

Appropriate enforcement action, where breaches or shortcomings are identified, is undertaken by the Department and authorised officers appointed under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, including but not limited to An Garda Síochána, customs agents and local authorities. Primary responsibility for protecting the welfare of equines rest with the owner or the keeper.

Under the Control of Horses Act 1996, local authorities may take a range of actions in relation to equines, including prohibiting horses in certain areas, issuing licences and seizing horses in contravention of the Act. These powers can be used in respect of straying horses, which includes horses put on land without the owner’s permission, including public land. Local authorities may also prosecute offenders.

The Department provides financial support to help local authorities with the cost of these seizures. The Department collects information from local authorities on a quarterly basis in respect of the overall number of equines seized by them. Currently, only the figures relating to quarter 1 and quarter 2 of this year are available, with the number of horses seized in Limerick over this period totalling 22. This number is down from the same period in 2024 where the number of horses seized was 45.

This Government is fully committed to supporting sustainable initiatives in line with the programme for Government and Working Together for Animal Welfare: Ireland's Animal Welfare Strategy 2021-2025. As part of this commitment, the Department of agriculture has continued to support urban horse projects nationwide, working with local authorities, charities and community stakeholders. These projects have proven very successful and are aimed specifically at equine welfare and marginalised communities. These projects can foster community leadership and education in responsible horse ownership for young people. An exemplar project of note is the Moyross project, which has been in operation since 2016 and has helped so many young people from disadvantages communities. I will interject here to point out there is a very good project in my own constituency which has also done incredible work in this area and we are all very proud of it.

From 2015 to date, over €2 million has been spent on urban horse projects by the Department, with €150,000 allocated for these projects in 2025. The urban horse projects greatly benefit the welfare of equines and young people from disadvantaged communities or backgrounds. There are currently seven live projects.

Last year, the Department awarded €6 million in funding, which went to 101 animal welfare charities throughout the country, under the animal welfare grants programme. Of that figure, just over €3.4 million was awarded to charities involved in the care and welfare of horses.

More generally, the Department recently published a report by Professor Paddy Wall on equine traceability and welfare and has prepared an action plan to implement its recommendations.

See this speech in context