Results 4,621-4,640 of 5,615 for speaker:Andrew Doyle

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: I apologise for having to suspend the sitting. The vote will probably take more than 15 minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: It is democracy at work.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: We have questions directed to each of the groups. I propose to take the responses from the groups in the order in which they made their presentations. I will take Mr. Iceton and Mr. O'Dwyer first.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: He may not return so Mr. Iceton should just answer. The response will be on the record.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: That is just for one year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: If one adds up the numbers, they come to approximately 16,000.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: The figures we have relate to the local authorities, but do not include the ISPCA figures.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: Does the ISPCA have a figure for the number of horses destroyed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: I am sorry. I thought the ISPCA did.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: I agree. There was a problem with dogs being exported which has been somewhat dealt with but not satisfactorily but the situation is much better under the dog breeding legislation. That information is news to me.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: I imagine there are limited access points but that could be dealt with.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: They are watching trucks that bring in cattle or sheep. The same people are standing there and one would imagine that when a ferry docks, every vehicle carrying livestock could be examined. It is different from contraband that can be landed in a quiet little inlet somewhere; horses are not small animals. We should take up this matter. There are questions for Dr. Kelly and Ms Bent.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: That is great. I thank Mr. McCarthy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: We were all taken aback by that fact. I thought I knew a lot about horses, but I had never heard that one.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: There was an explosion in the numbers of horses at a time when people should not really have had them. They became a status symbol. They then realised they had to feed and do a lot of other things with them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: This is straying from the subject matter.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: We produced a report on managing volatility. It is the same with horses. If the business or enterprise fails, welfare tends to go out the window. It is part of it but it is not an issue for today. Does anybody want to come back in?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Industry in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: We have a lot of food for thought here. I thank all the witnesses. As Mr. Iceton said, Ireland is the home of the horse and yet we see an attitude and behaviour towards horses that could undermine it. None of us could accept that. It is not all about funding but funding is a very important component of it because nothing can be done without money and resources. As with any implementation...

Topical Issue Debate: Cycling Facilities Funding (15 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: I wish to raise the issue of funding for a cycleway or walkway in what is known as the greenway in Blessington, specifically, for phase 2 of the project. I will set out some of the background. One objective of the Wicklow Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2009-2013 was to explore the potential of new trails in west Wicklow. A feasibility study was carried out in 2010 and the Pollaphuca Reservoir...

Topical Issue Debate: Cycling Facilities Funding (15 Jul 2015)

Andrew Doyle: I know the Minister is keen to get projects like this under way. We both dabbled in the greenway when we were in Westport at a party event some years ago. I am interested in what the Minister said about the INTERREG funding. He referred to the PEACE initiative and cross-border initiatives, whether they involved Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom. Not too far away from the greenway is...