Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Control of Horses Act 1996, local authorities may take a range of actions in relation to equines including prohibiting horses in certain areas, the issuing of licences and the seizure of horses in contravention of the Act. These powers can be used in respect of straying horses, which includes horses put on land without the owner’s permission, including public land. Local authorities may also prosecute offenders.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) provides financial support to help local authorities with these seizures - figures with respect to the number of animals involved are outlined below. Detailed information about reasons for the seizures rest with the local authorities.

In dealing with breaches of equine identification legislation, the Department’s policy is to adopt a fair and proportional approach. Authorised officers engage with keepers to ensure that they understand their responsibilities and where potential breaches of the legislation are identified, they generally provide an opportunity for non-compliant keepers to rectify the position within a specified timeframe.

Horses Seized by Local Authority - 2016-2023

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department endeavours on an ongoing basis to maximise the levels of compliance with equine identification legislation and enforcement is carried out by authorised officers across the Regional Office network in conjunction with authorised officers in the Local Authorities, An Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners and other relevant organisations .My Department does not maintain centralised data in relation to the levels of non-compliances for failure to microchip equines and there are no immediate plans to do so.

Strengthening our equine traceability system is a objective for my Department and one of the actions taken to increase compliance is the equine chip checker portal. In July of last year, my Department launched an equine microchip and UELN (passport number) checking facility on the DAFM website, providing members of the public with a direct link to the central equine database.

This facility can be accessed via the link EquineChipCheck.agriculture.gov.ie and promotes compliance by equipping potential buyers with key information such as whether the animal is officially registered and its foodchain status.