Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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262. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has given consideration in consultation with Connemara Pony Breeders Association to initiating a specialist report on the future of the Connemara pony. [3590/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department has approved the Connemara Pony Breeders Society to maintain the studbook for the breed and the Society’s role includes devising and implementing measures to promote, develop and conserve the breed.

The Connemara Pony Breeders Society is in receipt of funding from my Department under the Equine Infrastructure Grant Scheme for a range of projects, including breed improvement and promotion of the breed.

The Connemara pony is part of Ireland’s heritage and has rare breed status according to criteria set out by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. My Department currently supports the conservation and preservation of our national rare equine breeds, including the Connemara pony through agri-environmental schemes - the Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS), the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS), and under the proposed new Green Low carbon Agri-environmental Scheme (GLAS). GLAS is a scheme under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which my Department submitted last July to the European Commission for approval.

The Connemara pony breed is renowned for its hardiness, docility and versatility. Individual ponies within the breed have also excelled at top levels in the FEI disciplines of showjumping, eventing and dressage.

I am very conscious of the contribution of the Connemara pony breed to the sport horse industry which, according to a 2012 report commissioned by Horse Sport Ireland, contributes in excess of €708 million per annum to the Irish economy and provides 12,512 full‐time job equivalents.

Horse Sport Ireland, Teagasc and the Royal Dublin Society have been engaged during 2014 in producing a report outlining a ten-year strategy for the Sport Horse Sector. It is expected that the report will be launched shortly and will contain recommendations in regard to improving quality, delivering an education and training structure, improving the marketing and sales capacity across the entire industry, increasing participation in the sector and enhancing equine health and welfare.

The recommendations in the report will inform policy decisions taken in regard to the future development of the entire Sport Horse sector.