Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I will start with the last point. The Bill applies to all animals, wild animals and protected animals, in the control of a person. They may be farm animals or pets. Senator O'Neill left out the words in parentheses, "if any", when reading section 25(4) because there are no codes of conduct for most animals. Standards are imposed on 99% of farms in the farming sector. There are also animal husbandry requirements under cross compliance measures and these are linked to the single farm payment entitlements. Over the past 20 or 30 years, we have significantly raised the standard of animal welfare. Last January, separate items of legislation changed the conditions under which poultry farms operate in respect of the space for hens laying eggs. Battery hens no longer exist. From next January, all breeding sows must be in open housing situations. The tethering of sows will no longer be allowed under EU regulations. Farmers or pet owners are obliged to abide by a series of laws, whether EU laws or national legislation.

If there are sectors or categories that could benefit from a set of guidelines or rules, whether voluntary or statutory, the section gives the Minister the power to work with stakeholders to introduce the set of guidelines. A good example is the animal welfare guidelines for horses, ponies and donkeys. It outlines the five freedoms to which Senator Mooney referred. It is an international best practice standard related to the freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition, freedom from discomfort, pain injury and disease, freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour and freedom from fear and distress. These are internationally accepted in the western world as the five freedoms that apply to animals. They are the basis for codes of conduct but obviously we will have different types of codes of conduct depending on the sector. Let us suppose one keeps a set of hounds for hunting or beagling. These are very different circumstances from those of keeping a domestic pet. We are simply giving the Minister the power in this legislation to work with industry to put in place a code of conduct, where appropriate, in certain sectors as it should apply to them. Sometimes there are sectors within sectors. For example, the code of conduct which one may put in place for poultry housing or piggeries would be entirely different from a code of conduct for cattle or sheep. I take on board the point made by Senator Power about the need to consider international best practice on codes of conduct for domestic animals, especially dogs.

One thing we are trying to do with the legislation is to create an all-island approach towards animal welfare. Northern Ireland put in place animal welfare legislation last year. We have examined it and we are trying, where possible and practical, to mirror what they have done north of the Border so that there are common standards for animal welfare and animal health. I hope to move the towards a complete common standard north and south of the Border with a series of measures from disease control to welfare requirements. That is our purpose. I do not see the legislation as a threat to any sector. On the contrary, it is about applying best practice where appropriate in order that we look after animals properly.