Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 137: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of cases involving animal welfare problems which were dealt with by her Department's district veterinary offices in each of the past five years; the number of prosecutions involving animal welfare legislation which the district veterinary office was involved in over each of the past five years;and the number of convictions and acquittals which were the outcome of such cases during each of the past five years. [12230/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The main statutes governing cruelty to animals in this country are the Protection of Animals Acts 1911 and 1965. Responsibility for pursuing complaints under that legislation rests with the Garda Síochána which may, on receipt of a complaint, investigate and bring a prosecution against any person alleged to have committed an act of cruelty against an animal. Officers of my Department are regularly involved in assisting the gardaí in such cases.

My Department has certain statutory responsibility for the welfare and protection of farmed animals. The legislation governing this is the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes Act 1984 and the European Community (Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes) Regulations, 2000. In addition, there is specific legislation in regard to pigs, calves and laying hens.

Animal welfare cases which come to notice are dealt with, generally, by officers based in my Department's district veterinary offices. These officers deal with the implementation of animal welfare legislation as well as having responsibilities in a wide number of other areas related to animal health, disease control, etc. Information in regard to animal welfare cases dealt with in any particular year is not compiled centrally in my Department.

In 2004, the Farm Animal Welfare Council, FAWAC, introduced an early warning-intervention system, EWS, for animal welfare cases involving the Department of Agriculture and Food, the Irish Farmers' Association and the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals. The objective of the system is to provide a framework within which farm animal welfare problems can be identified before they become critical or overwhelming. The new system allows for concerned individuals to approach their local IFA representatives, the local SPCA or my Department in the knowledge that the matter will be dealt with in the most effective, timely and sensitive manner. In addition, my Department makes ex gratia payments annually to organisations involved in the direct delivery of animal care and welfare services to assist in their ongoing work. In this regard, some €1.2 million was paid to 86 organisations in December last to assist them during 2006 and a provision of €1.1 million for this purpose is included in my Department's Estimates for 2006.