Vol. 179 No. 1
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will make a statement on his investigations in connection with the death of forty-seven horses which were on their way to Belgium; if he is satisfied that all necessary precautions were taken; and what action is proposed to be taken to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.
19.
asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he has caused any official investigation to be held into the death of forty-seven horses at sea during the voyage of the s.s. City of Waterford which left Dublin on the 19th December last; and, if so, if he will publish the report of such investigation and the evidence tendered at it.
20.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will establish an independent tribunal to inquire into the death of forty-seven horses at sea during the voyage of the s.s. City of Waterford which left Dublin on the 19th December last.
21.
asked the Minister for Agriculture whether an inquiry has been held in order to find out if a gale warning signal was made available to the master of the s.s. City of Waterford in adequate time to prevent the vessel from sailing with horses on board; and, if so, what were its findings.
22.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if his attention has been called to the widespread publicity of an adverse nature to this country arising out of the trade in the export of live horses for slaughter; and if he will state the Government's policy in connection with this trade.
23.
asked the Minister for Agriculture under what statutory authority the existing regulations for the export of live horses for slaughter abroad were made; and if he will state the maximum penalty for the breach of the regulations.
24.
asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he will improve the regulations for the transport of horses by sea so as to prohibit their transport when gale warnings in the sea areas of the proposed voyage are in operation.
25.
asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he will appoint an independent commission of inquiry for the purpose (a) of ascertaining whether cruelty exists in the export of live horses for slaughter abroad; (b) of ascertaining whether the existing departmental regulations for the export of live horses for slaughter abroad are adequate; (c) of examining the economic effects of a discontinuance of this trade; and (d) of examining the possibility of establishing an abattoir, if necessary with State aid, for the purpose of slaughtering in Ireland horses which otherwise would be exported for slaughter abroad.
26.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if this country proposes to initiate proposals before any international organisation recommending a convention regulating the transport of horses as mentioned by the Taoiseach recently in London.
27.
asked the Minister for Agriculture whether, as reported, 20 out of a cargo of 143 horses exported were certified by an Irish veterinary surgeon as unfit for work.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 to 27 together.
The detailed investigation of the "City of Waterford" incident, which has been conducted by my Department with the assistance of Nautical Surveyors of the Department of Transport and Power, has now been completed, and the findings will be issued within a week. If the investigation shows that any further improvements are desirable in the regulations governing the shipment of horses, they will be made.
The official investigation which has just been concluded was an independent inquiry on behalf of the Government into an incident that occurred on a ship owned by a private commercial company.
The Diseases of Animals Acts are the statutory authority for regulations concerning the transport of horses. The maximum penalty provided for offences under the Acts is £100.
As regards the setting up of a commission of inquiry, as suggested in Question No. 25, the points mentioned at (a) and (b) of that question were covered by previous inquiries. As to (c) of that Question, it has already been made clear that the issue is not the economic value of the export of live horses but the principle that, subject to proper safeguards such as already exist in our case, it is legitimate to carry livestock by sea. As regards (d), the Government have already intimated that it is their policy to encourage and facilitate the slaughter of horses in this country, by competent firms, for export as dead meat.
I may add that I would welcome a proposal for an inter-governmental investigation by an appropriate international organisation of the conditions under which horses are transported by road, rail, sea and internal waterways in all countries. I know that an investigation of this kind would disclose that few countries take such satisfactory precautions in this regard as Ireland, and the Government have no hesitation in saying now that they would accede to any international convention that might result from it.
With regard to Question No. 27, I have seen a newspaper report of a statement alleged to have been made by an Irish veterinary surgeon who, so far as I can ascertain, did not examine the horses prior to shipment. I have complete confidence in the integrity, competence and independence of judgment of the veterinary staff of my Department, whose duty it is to inspect all horses presented for shipment.
Arising out of Question No. 18, I would ask the Minister if he is quite satisfied personally that all the necessary precautions were taken in the case of the 47 horses referred to?
I have announced that I have received a report from the body set up to make inquiries and the findings of that inquiry will be made known in the course of a week.
It will be made public?
Yes.
Arising out of Question No. 25, in which Deputy Declan Costello asked the Minister whether the possibility of establishing an abattoir will be examined, is the Minister aware that during the term of office of Deputy Costello's Leader, Deputy Dillon, several applications were made to him as Minister for Agriculture for permission to set up an abattoir in this country and were refused?
You have it now and are not killing horses in it.
It is rather peculiar that a Fine Gael Deputy should be urging the Fianna Fáil Government to do something that his Leader turned down.
