Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Question 532: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he intends to introduce additional measures to control horses on public roads and on open spaces; if he intends to issue instructions to local authorities regarding the control of horses on lands owned by local authorities, including those lands designated exclusively for housing purposes; if he is satisfied that local authorities are dealing adequately with the issue of the control of horses; if he will consider introducing additional measures to identify the owners of horses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35923/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department's statutory responsibility extends to the welfare of farmed animals only i.e. animals bred or kept for farming purposes. This legislation is enforced under the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations 2010.

Issues related to controlling stray and wandering horses is legislated for under the Control of Horses Act 1996 which provides extensive powers to Local Authorities. For purposes of the Act, stray horses are defined as horses in a public place or on any premises without the owner's consent. The Act specifically provides for a Local Authority to make bye-laws for the control of horses in its functional area including exclusion of horses from certain areas by bye-laws. Such bye-laws may specify the manner in which a horse is to kept under control by a person having charge of it in a public place, including on the open road or other place. The Act enables Local Authorities to require the licensing of horses within such areas and provides powers of seizure, detention and disposal of horses.

My Department funds Local Authorities in their work in implementing the Control of Horses Act and in this context, officials of my Department are in discussions with Local Authority representatives with a view to finalising a protocol to improve implementation of Control of Horses activities throughout the different areas. Discussions are focusing on those areas where the Act has been working well with a view to incorporating best practices in other areas with the aim of implementing practical and sustainable operating procedures across all the Local Authority areas.

On the issue of strengthening measures on horse owner identity, my Department is currently in the process of drafting legislation which will require that keepers of horses register their premises with the Department. Cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry premises are already registered on the Animal Health Computer System (AHCS) and while some horse premises are already registered as part of other holdings on the AHCS, a dedicated equine premises registration is now being drawn up. The purpose of the legislation is to enable the Department to have a complete picture on the location of horses for disease control purposes.

In addition my Department is now enforcing the enhanced rules governing equine identification which is required to comply with EU legislation, namely European Commission Regulation No. 504/2008. The legislation requires horse owners to ensure that all horses have a passport and that foals be identified before 31st December of the year of birth or within six months of birth whatever date is the later. The enhanced system for identifying horses has three elements, an equine passport, a microchip and the assignment of a unique equine life number to the equine in the database of the approved passport issuing organisation.