Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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98. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on funding a national trap, neuter and return programme for the wild cat population. [18453/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Each year, my Department provides funding to animal welfare charities across Ireland. In December 2022, I announced the provision of €5.8m to 99 animal welfare charities, a record amount which thereby exceeded the Programme for Government commitment to double the funding allocated to animal welfare charities.

Many of these charities carry out trap, neuter and return programmes for feral cats in Ireland. The full list of funded charities has been published on my Department's website; some of them focus on cat trap, neuter and return activities, while others include such work within a wider programme of animal welfare actions.

Based on the figures reported by these charities in their applications for grant funding to my Department, 5,810 cats were trapped, neutered and returned by these animal welfare charities nationally in 2021.

I continue to provide such funding to animal welfare charities, including those which carry out trap neuter and return programmes, in 2023. The application process for grant funding will open later in the year.