Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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243. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which breeding management and husbandry of the non-thorough bred horse sector continue to be monitored and controlled-regulated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49425/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department currently approves 7 organisations to maintain 11 studbooks for registered equidae in the non-thoroughbred sector which covers the following breeds: Irish Sport Horse, Irish Draught Horse, Irish Sport Pony and Irish Cobs maintained by Horse Sport Ireland (HSI); Connemara pony maintained by the Connemara Pony Breeders Society; Irish Piebald and Skewbald and Irish Donkey maintained by the Irish Piebald and Skewbald Association, trading as Leisure Horse Ireland; Irish Warmblood maintained by the Irish Warmblood Studbook; Irish Riding Pony maintained by The Irish Pony Society; Kerry Bog Pony maintained by The Kerry Bog Society; The Irish Appaloosa maintained by The Irish Appaloosa Association. As part of their approval process each organisation is required to submit a detailed application and is inspected by my Department.

Each approved studbook keeping organisation is required to operate a breeding programme for their respective breed. The principles of the breeding programme are set out in EU legislation and include elements such as the characteristics of the breed, the objectives of the breed, the sections within the studbook, the eligibility criteria for entry and the use of performance data relevant to the breed’s objectives.

Any changes to the studbook rules during their three year period of approval are required to be notified to my Department.

A number of organisations and institutions are working to promote appropriate breeding, management and husbandry practices in an effort to increase the level of efficiency within the sport horse sector.

One of the aims of Teagasc is to promote efficient and profitable equine production and to improve the skills of producers. To this end, Teagasc hosts events to educate and inform breeders on new developments and best practice and provides advice to equine producers in relation to breeding, husbandry and management. It also offers equine courses, encompassing marketing and horsemanship and provides a distance learning horse breeding course.

A number of third level educational institutions are also fulfilling an important role in developing professional skills in relation to the sport horse sector by offering undergraduate equine-related modules and courses.

In January of this year, I launched the HSI, Teagasc, Royal Dublin Society initiative to develop a 10-year strategy for the sport horse sector for the period to 2025. The aim of the project is to ensure that the sport horse sector contributes, to the maximum possible extent, to our export-led economic recovery and to increase the income of horse breeders, producers and participants in the wider supply chain. I understand that the strategy document was recently finalised and will be presented to me very shortly.

I am very conscious of the contribution of the sport horse sector to the economy. According to a report commissioned by Horse Sport Ireland, the sport horse industry contributes in excess of €708 million per annum to the Irish economy and provides 12,512 full‐time job equivalents. Almost 50,000 people participate in the sector. In this regard, I was delighted to be in a position to provide a significant increase in funding to Horse Sport Ireland in the recent budget. In addition, the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which my Department submitted last July to the European Commission for approval, contains a proposal to establish Knowledge Transfer Groups in the equine sector. It is proposed that these Knowledge Transfer Groups will focus on breeding management and husbandry.