Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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314. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to strengthen the laws around animal cruelty, including the provision of greater deterrents for those guilty of an offence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12003/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Incidents of animal cruelty are totally unacceptable and my Department devotes considerable resources to protecting animal welfare and dealing with breaches of animal welfare legislation. Sections 11 and 12 of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 contain rules relating to the welfare of animals and outlawing cruelty. These rules provide that a person having an animal in his or her possession or control must safeguard and not threaten the health and welfare of the animal. In addition, it is an offence for a person to cause unnecessary suffering, endanger, neglect or be reckless regarding the health or welfare of any animal. The Act also provides for increased levels of penalties for offences committed under the Act. For major cases taken on indictment, the maximum penalty has been increased from €100,000 to €250,000, with a maximum custodial sentence of five years imprisonment. Section 58 of the Act also provides that a person convicted of an offence under the Act may be disqualified from keeping, owning or working with an animal. These penalties are in keeping with Irish jurisprudence and therefore I do not envisage further changes.