Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the comments from Senator Murphy. I will go back over and comment on the various points raised by Senators. I am sure the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, recognises it is important for the Green Party members to use every means we can to make sure the issue of fur farming is progressed because it was critical to us entering this Government. The Minister said he was not going to enter negotiations on the floor of the Seanad because he wanted the Bill to pass. That means the Bill needs to be commenced. Otherwise, it is pointless passing a Bill and us putting extreme pressure on our Government colleagues to get it passed. It was not an easy time. To find it is not commenced is quite difficult for us. I am delighted to know the Minister will do this within the next couple of weeks. I will be looking at this throughout the summer to make sure it happens.

An awful lot of work is happening on animal welfare behind the scenes. The Minister of State laid all of that out. A number of points have been brought up in the House today and I am delighted to have tabled this motion in order to facilitate Senators in doing that. It is critical, first, in relation to dogs. As I said to Senator Boylan, we were delighted to put in this part from her Bill into our motion. She has asked to work together and I am more than happy to do so on issues in relation to dog welfare, in particular. Senator Craughwell spoke passionately about this issue and has, as the Minister of State said, much experience in this. It brings to light something many people do not realise, namely, that it is really hard to enforce some of the elements legislated for. That means we need more legislation and enforcement in this area. I am happy to progress that.

On Senator Boyhan's comments that vets might be too expensive for the State to put on board all ships, I am sorry but it is the job of the exporter to pay for that. It you cannot afford it, do not export. I put in the issue around exotic pets because it is an important one for biodiversity but let us make clear that every animal is equal, including unweaned calves going to Europe, which is where they predominantly go. Why are we sending unweaned calves to Europe? We in the Green Party do not believe they should be sent anywhere. Why do they not stay at home and we progress other avenues for these animals? At the very least, they could be weaned before being sent anywhere. That point is important to stress. I am not trying to pick on Senator Boyhan but he said "we have to be balanced" because "we are in an economy". There is very little money coming to any farmer in this State from any type of export, wherever it is. Animal welfare organisations, particularly Ethical Farming Ireland, will say live export is not holding the farming industry together. We can never put money before the welfare of animals. That is why the motion specifically mentions this. We have to put welfare first. We have to have vets on board every ship, no matter what it costs.

I appreciate the comments by Senators Murphy, Lombard and Dolan that we need to support farmers. Everything we have done is about supporting farmers. That is why we specifically excluded that element. It is Green Party policy that we end live exports but it is not just about pragmatism. Most people across this Chamber, be they Opposition or Government, do not support ending live exports. We have to do what we can where we can for the welfare of these animals.

I thank Senator Hoey for raising the issue around Dublin Zoo. It is a grave concern that any animals are treated in this way, be they domestic, for export, for farming or exotic animals. A proper investigation is required.

I am glad that these issues have been supported by the Government and that we can continue to support all these organisations which do immense work. Many of the issues raised today concern dogs and that is a testament to what Irish people feel about animals. They are the animals most people in the country know best and they are shocked when they hear of mistreatment. MADRA is a fantastic organisation in Galway and an awful lot of people in Galway go there when they want to get a dog and rehome them, as the Minister of State said. It is a wonderful experience for children to be in contact with animals. We often say that you cannot foster a love of nature and the environment unless you are surrounded by it, know it and feel it in daily life. That is the same for animals. Let us make sure we are doing it properly. Nobody needs to go to a website to buy a dog from a breeder when they do not know what the background is. Many animals are crying out for love and I implore people to go first to organisations like MADRA if that is what they are looking for for their children.