Dáil debates
Thursday, 3 July 2025
Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
Pigmeat Sector
4:05 am
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context
78. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will outlaw teeth-clipping, tail-docking and castration in pig farming and regulate sow stalls and farrowing crates to have an area of not less than 5 sq. m, so as to improve animal welfare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36640/25]
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Last Tuesday, I introduced a Bill to ban pig mutilation, sow stalls and farrowing crates, which the EU has already committed to phase out and for which the Minister is already giving grants to farmers to move away from. The question is whether he will take a lead on this, as the Government did under pressure from campaigners on fur farming, where it moved ahead of the rest of the European Union to ban fur farming. Will the Minister act now to ban the most inhumane practices in the pig industry?
Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context
I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this important topic. There is EU and national legislation in place to protect the welfare of pigs. It sets out detailed requirements for pigs, including, for example, requirements for minimum space, feeding and watering of pigs, environmental enrichment, lighting and noise levels. Regarding sow stalls and farrowing crates, the legislation allows for sows and gilts to be confined in stalls and crates for a defined period and currently both are used on most Irish pig farms for management purposes. My Department has implemented specific actions to help reduce the need for routine tail docking of pigs. These include the delivery of a free animal welfare risk assessment tool for commercial pig farms in collaboration with Animal Health Ireland and Teagasc.
11 o’clock
The tool enables farmers to work with their vet to identify their risk factors for tail-biting and to develop an action plan to deal with those risks. More than 1,300 assessments have been carried out across 400 pig farms to date. My Department also carries out risk-based inspections on a number of pig farms each year to check compliance with the legislation. Tooth reduction in piglets is currently necessary to prevent injuries to the teats of sows and to other piglets when they suckle. However, the castration of pigs is not routinely carried out in Ireland.
Under the farm to fork strategy, the European Commission committed to revising the EU animal welfare legislation, including the pig welfare directive. The Commission has also indicated that a phasing out of the use of cages for animals, including sow stalls and crates, is being considered. It is important that any new welfare legislation is based on science, with reasonable transition periods and supports given to farmers. I will continue to closely monitor developments at EU level.
4:15 am
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context
What provoked me to introduce this Bill was undercover investigations carried out by the National Animal Rights Association and Animal Rebellion Ireland. There were two separate investigations on six different farms, chosen at random. Video evidence was produced, which I watched. It was horrendous. The Department has been sent the footage but I do not know if the Minister has had a chance to watch it. I encourage him to do so.
Sick and dying pigs with open wounds and weeping open sores were left to suffer and die in filthy conditions. "Enrichment" was just a metal bar and the pigs were clearly starved of any real enrichment. Pigs had their tails painfully docked or cut off right up to the root, although tail-docking is supposed to be banned, other than in limited circumstances. Up to 95% of Irish pigs still have their tails docked. The farrowing crates and sow stalls are so narrow that the sows cannot turn around or move more than a few centimetres. They are in there for long periods to ensure they never get a moment's break from suckling the 15 piglets that are now regularly born in each litter. Has the Minister seen the footage and how does he respond to it?
Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context
The Government strongly condemns any cruelty or mistreatment of any animal. It is my Department's policy to investigate all allegations of illegal or criminal behaviour and to prepare files for appropriate action. We have very robust animal welfare legislation in this country. The welfare of all animals, in particular those in intensively reared systems such as pigs, is a priority for my Department. In the case of pigs, there is sector-specific legislation in place based on existing EU rules.
Some of the measures the Deputy talks about are unpleasant in nature but they also involve animal welfare measures. A large sow rolling over on very young piglets could cause their death, which would not be positive. The purpose of the crate around farrowing time is to prevent that happening. For that reason, we must look at animal welfare measures in the round. It is the same with the point about piglets' teeth and the impact they can have on other piglets or the sow.
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Pigs are highly intelligent, sociable creatures. The farms were selected at random and all of them demonstrated horrific conditions for pigs. They were in a desperate state. Dead pigs were just lying there, as were pigs that were severely injured and heading towards death. Pigs were trapped in very small spaces. They are in grim indoor spaces and they never go outside in their whole lives. Some 3.5 million pigs are in conditions like that and are slaughtered in Ireland every single year. Pig farming takes place on a very small number of farms. There are approximately 260 pig farms in Ireland.
What we have is a mixture of breaking existing laws and laws that are inadequate and allow poor conditions to persist. The Minister might tell us what is being done about that. Every time I raise such issues or there is an "RTÉ Investigates" programme, the Minister says he is looking into the matter but nothing ever seems to happen in regard to actions against the farmers who are guilty of abuse or in terms of improvements to the legislation.
Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context
I repeat that the Government strongly condemns any cruelty or mistreatment of any animal. We carry out risk-based assessments. We also carry out investigations into any allegations of illegal or criminal behaviour and we prepare files for the Director of Public Prosecutions, as appropriate. That is a strong priority of my Department. We take that responsibility very seriously. I want to be very clear on that.
My Department recently published an updated specification for new pig housing under TAMS 3, with requirements including more space, more comfortable flooring, more feeding space and farrowing pens of 6.5 m. sq. Sows can only be kept in a crate for a few days around farrowing, and the rest of the time they must be loose in the pen. Housing constructed in line with this specification will enhance pig welfare and enable farmers to move towards rearing pigs with long tails. We are working on that in a very clear direction. We take a very serious approach to any infringement of animal welfare laws, which is our role. We continue to engage at a European level on the future direction of policy regarding the points Deputy Murphy raised.