Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 16 stands alone in the eighth group and is about the prohibition on abandonment of animals. This was suggested during the Committee Stage debate and addresses the need to allow for light and ventilation for animals that are being left unattended. This merely adds to the categorisation of what constitutes abandonment. In other words, it is one thing to abandon an animal on a mountainside but I must also cater for abandonment within sheds, garages, backyards or wherever. Therefore, there is an obligation to provide light and ventilation for animals when they are unattended.