Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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714. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of animal welfare prosecutions that have come about on foot of his Department's efforts in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21363/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, which came into operation on 6 March 2014, is a legal instrument with wide application and potential use by a range of authorised officers in a wide variety of settings. Local authorities, An Garda Síochána and officials of my Department are empowered to take prosecutions under the Act. To date, over fifty prosecutions have been initiated under the Act, including those taken by my Department arising from field inspections by Department Officers, authorised officers of the ISPCA and DSPCA and An Garda Síochána. Several prosecutions have been successfully completed and the remainder are at various stages in the court system.