Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I have just been advised that the normal period we would financially support the council in terms of keeping animals is five days. These are issues we can review if they are not appropriate. The point of having flexibility around codes of conduct is to be able to extend or reduce them, depending on what is appropriate. We are trying to get this right, which is why putting a timeframe into a Bill such as this would be wrong. For example, as people increasingly use social media we can get out messages to them much more quickly and allow them to pick up their animals. We need the flexibility, through codes of conduct, to be able to change, improve and adapt the length of time horses will be kept. In terms of the financial support we give to local authorities for looking after abandoned horses, however, my information is that that is based on a period of five days.