Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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119. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department will consider designating authorised officer status to the inspectors an organisation (details supplied) given currently the organisation handles far higher equine volumes than any other organisation in Ireland and lack of authorised officer status creates delays in seizures, prevents lawful statutory evidence gathering and hampers Gardaí in urgent cruelty cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54715/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Under the Animal Health and Welfare Act, 2013, my Department has primary policy responsibility for the welfare of all animals.

Since the introduction of the Act, approximately 1,000 staff within my Department have been designated as authorised officers, under the Act. A large number of these authorised officers are based in my Department’s network of Regional Veterinary Offices throughout the country, providing nationwide coverage. Their responsibilities include carrying out welfare inspections in every county and providing advice and support to the keepers of animals. Primary responsibility for protecting the welfare of animals rests with the owner or keeper.

Authorised officers regularly carry out inspections and investigations, and work towards ensuring the welfare of animals and compliance with legislation, with interventions ranging from advice to warnings, and to legal compliance notices. When necessary, legal sanctions are imposed, and prosecutions are taken when other efforts to ensure compliance have failed or there is blatant disregard for an animal’s welfare.

To date, over 200 successful prosecutions have been taken under the Animal Health and Welfare Act, and a number of other investigations are ongoing.

Members of An Garda Síochána and the Customs Service are directly authorised under the Act. Local authorities are empowered to appoint authorised officers under the Act. My Department has entered into service level agreements with different organisations. It is then the responsibility of those organisations to allocate staff resources as appropriate to their particular roles. My Department will consider any request in relation to forming a service level agreement.