Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the young people to the Gallery. It is great to have them here. I probably saw them in the Dáil earlier. I am sure they are all looking forward to Santa. The countdown is well and truly on.

In line with the commitment in the programme for Government to prioritise equine welfare through a robust traceability system, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine carried out the first equine census in November 2021. The 2022 equine census was held yesterday, Wednesday, 30 November. The primary objective of the census is to capture the habitual residence of every equine present on holdings across the country on census night - I am starting to sound like the nativity.

All keepers will be able to access the equine census 2022 portal on agfood.agriculture.gov.ie. It will allow them to submit a census, including habitual residence of animals on a holding. It is important not to conflate habitual residence with ownership. As with other species, it is the keeper who may or may not be the owner of the equine and is responsible for the proper identification and treatment of that animal. The Department, therefore, relies primarily on updates by the keeper and change of ownership updates as a matter for the passport issuing organisation, PIO.

As referenced by Senator Boyhan, the census is required in order to comply with the provisions of EU animal health law, EU regulation 2016/429, which requires that the Department records the details of the premises where all equines resident in the State are habitually kept. Unlike other farm species, equines move on a frequent, often daily, basis for training, exercise, breeding, racing, competition, shows, etc. It is recognised that real-time recording of their every movement is not feasible due to the frequency of movement of horses. Accordingly, the EU legislation regarding equine traceability is based on the creation of a link between the horse and residents where it is habitually kept.

The concept of a habitual residence is generally regarded as referring to the place where an equine has resided for a period of more than 30 days. By creating a link for the first time between each equine kept in the State on census day and the premises where it is kept, the census is the Department's first step in capturing the habitual residence of equines in the country.

The 12,500 census returns received last year have been converted into holding profiles in the Department's central equine database. As outlined, keepers will have access to the central equine database through the census portal, equine census 2022 on agfood.agriculture.gov.ieto which they can make a return. Those who submitted a 2021 census return will be presented with the information they submitted last year and can choose to access information and use it as a base for their return. This removes the need to re-enter the 15-digit passport numbers on equines that remain on the premises, information which is kept and recorded on the Department's system. Keepers keeping large numbers of equines, even where they are capped across a number of different premises, can choose a bulk upload option or submission of a spreadsheet on agfood.agriculture.gov.ie.

While paper returns will be accepted for census 2022, the Department strongly encourages people to submit their 2022 census data online to through the dedicated census portal using their dedicated user name and PIN. I, along with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, encourage everyone keeping an equine to submit a census form. Census data provides valuable information for disease prevention, addressing public health concerns and dealing with lost, straying or stolen horses. There is extensive information on the Department's website for anyone with more questions.

In more general terms, equine traceability continues to be enhanced. The system is centred on the equine database, which was established in May 2013. The database is part of the Department's annual identification movement. The database records and registered details on all equines issued with a passport by approved PIO, in Ireland. It also records the registration details of equines resident in the country issued with a passport by approved PIOs outside the Status.