Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

Amendment No. 27a inserts into section 23(2) the phrase: ", without having to seek the consent of its owner or the person in control of it". It permits a competent officer to deal with, for example, an animal which is lying in a ditch after being hit by a truck and which clearly needs to be put down in circumstances where it has been abandoned or its owner cannot be determined. It is a practical approach to situations where it is not possible to find the owner or person who is in control of the animal. Sometimes the decision has to be made on the spot in order to be as sympathetic as possible towards the animal. We believed this amendment was required to make it crystal clear that such an intervention was permitted. On that basis I will withdraw amendment No. 28.