Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I appreciate that he did not just work through the script because, with no disrespect to the civil servant who drafted it, it does not address the issue raised. I accept the Minister of State's bona fides but, with no disrespect, the Department is not policing the system effectively. According to Action for Animal Welfare Ireland, there are repeated behaviours year on year because there are never prosecutions. A fair and proportionate response must include prosecutions. It is not acceptable that there have been no prosecutions for the last five years. The Department should and must do more.