The person whom Deputy McGuinness refers to (as per details supplied) has contacted my Department on a number of occasions over several decades regarding his concerns of ill-health/underperformance of horses on his holding. My Department has carefully reviewed the evidence provided by this person on each occasion.
There have been three significant documents produced on the reported health issues on this holding as follows:
1. My Department led a review of the clinical history furnished by this person and associated clinical records & laboratory reports dating back to 1990, supplied by his veterinary practitioners. This review was compiled by a Research Officer in my Department in 2014 and reviewed and signed off by a group of senior veterinary managers in my Department.
2. My department commissioned and funded a report of a full grazing season of clinical & pathological investigations conducted by the UCD Veterinary Hospital in 2015, overseen by a specially convened committee of equine experts drawn from the UCD Veterinary School, the Irish Equine Centre and my Department’s laboratory service. The report of this work was completed in May 2016.
3. My Department conducted a review of laboratory blood test results from several horses on this holding which were sampled between 2016 and 2023. This review, which was conducted by equine medicine & veterinary pathology specialists within my Department, was reported to this person on 7th December 2023.
Each of these investigations involved a significant commitment of time and resources by my Department, and the resultant documents have been shared with this person in each case when complete. None of these investigations identified any significant disease entity. There is no evidence of any public health or wider animal health concern that requires or warrants state intervention at this time.
Notwithstanding the above, my Department’s veterinary services remain available to provide further advice and guidance if any new scientific evidence is forthcoming.
