Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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1111. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider putting a strategic plan in place to protect the health of Connemara ponies into the future in view of the seriously concerning statistics on hoof wall separation disease. [44956/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Connemara Pony Breeders Society (CPBS) has been approved by my Department to maintain the Studbook for Connemara Ponies and, in this regard, operates a breeding programme for the breed.

My Department has allocated funding to the Connemara Pony Breeders Society under the Equine Infrastructures Scheme since 2015, to facilitate research into this genetic defect. The research work carried out in conjunction  with Weatherby's, in this regard has enabled the Society to test for the presence of the HWSD gene. This has allowed the Society put together a strategy to bring about a decrease in the incidence of this genetic defect towards its eventual elimination.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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1112. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if further tranches of funding will be rolled out to animal welfare organisations in view of the fact that an organisation (details supplied) received just €2,000 in the most recent round of funding to support its work in 2021. [44975/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to assure the Deputy that animal welfare is a high priority for my Department and considerable resources and funding are provided to address the issue. The Programme for Government  contains an undertaking to provide additional funding to support animal welfare in the coming years to which I am fully committed.  In December 2020, I announced record funding of €3.2 million to 101 animal welfare organisations throughout the country.  This included an award made to the organisation named which represented a doubling of the funding awarded in 2019.

Applications for annual funding from animal welfare organisations are assessed carefully and awards are made on the basis of objective criteria, including the level and type of assistance provided by the organisation in the delivery of care and welfare services to animals and the level of funding raised by organisations from other sources to support welfare activities.

My Department's scheme for support to animal welfare charities in 2022 will be advertised later this year and applications from eligible organisations will be welcomed.