Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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544. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons convicted of a €5,000 penalty under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9020/25]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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545. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons imprisoned for six months under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9021/25]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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546. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons fined €250,000 under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9022/25]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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547. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons imprisoned for up to five years under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9023/25]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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548. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons disqualified from owning animals under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9024/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 544 to 548, inclusive together.

The Animal Health and Welfare Act provides a modern framework for regulating and applying standards in the area of animal health and welfare and replaced a number of enactments dating back over a century. The Act was passed, after a lengthy and constructive debate in both Houses of the Oireachtas and came into operation on 6th March 2014. The Act is kept under constant review.

My Department continues to enforce the Animal Health and Welfare Act along with An Garda Síochána, the Customs service, and authorised officers from the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Since the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 came into operation, 181 individuals have been successfully prosecuted and fines in excess of €311,558 have been imposed. Thirty persons have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment, of which twenty were suspended.

The table below shows a breakdown of fines imposed by the courts in excess of €5,000, fines of €250,000, individuals sentenced to imprisonment and individuals banned from owning animals for the period 2020 - 2025.

The dedicated e-mail address and helpline in place for reporting suspected cases of animal welfare are:

Helpline Phone No: 01 607 2379.

Email address - animalwelfare@agriculture.gov.ie

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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549. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of equines euthanised as a result of being seized by local authorities in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9025/25]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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550. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of equines seized for each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 per local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9026/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 549 and 550 together.

The Control of Horses Act 1996 (the Act) provides powers to local authorities, enabling them to control stray and wandering horses in their geographical areas. The Act provides powers to local authorities to allow them take a range of actions in relation to equines including prohibiting horses in certain areas, 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.

My Department provides financial support to help local authorities with the costs of these seizures. Based on the data submitted by local authorities to my Department, the total numbers of horses seized and euthanised by local authorities from 2020 to 2024 are shown in the table below. The figures provided for 2024 have not been finalised and are subject to change. Detailed information about the reasons for the seizures rests with the local authorities.

I am fully committed to supporting sustainable initiatives. As part of this commitment, I continue to support urban horse projects nationwide, which can foster community leadership and education in responsible horse ownership for young people. There are currently eight live projects and in October 2023, my Department hosted a seminar dedicated to the promotion of the urban horse projects.

Last year €6 million in funding went to 101 animal welfare charities throughout the country, under the Animal Welfare Grant Programme. Of that figure, just over €3.4 million was awarded to charities involved in the care and welfare of horses.

My Department operates a confidential animal welfare helpline through which members of the public can report incidents of animal cruelty or neglect for investigation.

The dedicated e-mail address and helpline in place for reporting suspected cases of animal welfare are:

Helpline Phone No: 01 607 2379.

Email address - animalwelfare@agriculture.gov.ie