Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of horses slaughtered for the food chain in licensed meat plants in each of the last five years; the numbers of meat plants that have been licensed for the slaughter of horses in each of these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6966/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The number of horses slaughtered in plants approved by my Department in each of the years since 2008 was as follows:

2008 – 2,002;

2009 – 3,220;

2010 – 7,296;

2011 – 12,575;

2012 – 11,402.

It is understood from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland that the following numbers of horses were slaughtered in local authority approved slaughter plants since 2008:

2008 – Nil;

2009 – 1,027;

2010 – 2,494;

2011 – 4,985;

2012 – 12,960.

The number of meat plants approved by my Department to slaughter horses was as follows:

2008 – 1

2009 – 2

2010 - 3

2011 - 3

2012 – 3

I understand from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland that the number of local authority approved horse slaughter plants was as follows:

2008 – Nil

2009 – 1

2010 – 2

2011 – 3

2012 – 3

The current position is that there are 2 local authority approved plants and one approved by my Department. The latter is not active at present.

My Department has introduced a range of measures to improve systems in this area.

The Department has liaised with passport issuing agencies in Ireland and has developed protocols to allow abattoir operators to check the details of passports with these agencies to seek to ensure that they are valid and that only those horses eligible for slaughter are slaughtered.

The Department is also developing a central database of horses which will involve migration of selected data from passport issuing agencies to the Department. The database will be populated by information provided from the databases maintained by the agencies, by the Department from records obtained at slaughter plants and knackeries and by local authorities in respect of records maintained at appropriate slaughter plants. The intention is that this database will be used at abattoirs to assist in verifying the authenticity of the passport for the equine presented and to record its date of slaughter.