Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 83: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if her attention has been drawn to concerns expressed at the recent Teagasc national breeding conference that Ireland's traditional workhorse, the Irish draught, is in danger of becoming extinct; if she will take steps to ensure the continuation of this breed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17384/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware that the Irish draught is an endangered breed of horse. My Department, in the context of co-ordinating and promoting the conservation and utilisation of genetic resources for food and agriculture, has funded four projects on the Irish Draught horse in recent years.

In 2000, the department of animal science in UCD was funded to carry out a project, entitled The characterisation of the Irish Draught Horse population in Ireland, which involved a description of the breed demographically and genetically. The results from the project provided much beneficial information regarding the Irish draught horse population, which is essential in trying to develop a conservation strategy for the breed.

In 2003, UCD was funded to carry out further analyses on the Irish draught horse population, which involved characterisation at a molecular level. The results of this analysis will be available in mid-2005.

In 2004, funding was provided to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, ICBF, for a project which involved the identification of least related stallions in the population to provide mating advice to breeders to help increase genetic diversity within the breed. The results of this project will be available to breeders in October 2005.

This year, funding has been provided to the Royal Dublin Society, in co-operation with ICBF, to collect semen from rare lines of Irish draught horses and to carry out an education and awareness campaign on the results from the mating advice project carried out by ICBF.

My Department also provides funding to the Irish Horse Board, which operates a scheme to encourage the pure breeding of Irish draught horses. In 2004, a grant of €250 was paid to breeders who registered purebred progeny of Irish draught mares. In addition, the board assists the draught horse society with administrative and promotional costs. I understand that the board is currently in discussions with the Irish Draught Horse Society with a view to further increasing financial support for the breed in the future.

Finally, under the REPS programme operated by my Department there is a supplementary measure for the conservation of rare farm animal breeds. Supplementary measure 3 recognises that local animal breeds play a significant role in maintaining the rural environment and represent a significant element of the cultural heritage of farming in Ireland. The objective of this supplementary measure is to encourage farmers to rear animals of specific breeds traditional to Ireland, that are in danger of being lost to farming. An annual payment of €200 per livestock unit is payable, subject to certain conditions. The Irish draught horse is supported under this measure.