As I said the previous day we debated this Bill, I very much welcome its introduction after a long delay. The issue of wandering horses is a very big one in my constituency, as it is in many Dublin constituencies. I make no apology for raising this issue on a number of occasions by way of parliamentary question and Adjournment debate. I was very angered at the undue delay in bringing forward the Bill. It seems issues affecting the Dublin area, particularly working class areas, do not get the priority they deserve, and part of the reason relates to the rural bias that is reflected in the composition of this House.
My interest in this matter and the reason I raised it on a number of occasions is that many of my constituents have brought it to my attention. It is an issue that affects at least 50 per cent of my constituency. Many residents experience difficulties in terms of resources to deal with issues which have been neglected by Dublin Corporation in the environmental, housing and services areas. In recent years there has been a distinct fight-back by communities in taking charge of their areas and making efforts to improve the amenity value of the area. In my area of Finglas there has been a huge success rate in that regard. Many Dublin Corporation housing estates were award winners in tidy district competitions. That came about as a result of enormous effort on the part of individual residents and residents' associations.
Regrettably, however, in recent years much of that work has been seriously undermined. Residents involved in cleaning their areas, planting shrubs and trees and tidying grass verges have experienced great difficulty because of the presence of large numbers of horses in their areas. This issue was raised at practically every residents' association meeting I attended. It is very demoralising for people trying to improve their areas to see their work undone by wandering horses. In addition, the presence of wandering horses in gardens or in open green spaces, together with joyriding and motorbike riding by underage teenagers, adds significantly to the sense of lawlessness that pervades many Dublin Corporation housing estates and damages morale among local people who are trying to improve their areas.
I have received an increasing number of complaints from sports groups whose pitches are being seriously damaged and fouled by wandering horses. This is common in areas of my constituency such as Ballymun, Finglas West and Finglas South where people are putting enormous effort into developing community and sports facilities. Much of that good work is being undone because of the presence of wandering horses.
I welcome the Bill. I am concerned this is only the second stage of controlling the problem of wandering horses. It seems it will be quite some time before new laws are in place and operating on the ground and it probably will be a long time before we see any concrete results from this Bill.
I urge the Minister not to delay in dealing with this matter. I do not simply mean the passage of the Bill through this House. There are a number of areas in which regulations will have to be introduced and local authorities must ensure that they introduce the necessary by-laws with sufficient haste to deal with the problem in the near future. Much follow-up work needs to be done after the passage of the Bill and I hope the Minister will see that work to fruition.
When I contributed to the earlier debate on the Bill I referred to my frustration, as a Dublin Deputy, at the delay in bringing this legislation before the House. We must consider the problems that have been caused by the delay in dealing with this issue, which was brought to the attention of this Government and the previous Government. Ideally we should have dealt with this issue comprehensively five years ago when the problem was only beginning, but many additional problems have arisen in that period in relation to horse ownership.
The practice has developed whereby children who have acquired a large amount of money, say, when they make their confirmation or first holy communion, are buying a horse instead of a bike, which was the tradition in the past. Horse ownership has become extremely common among young people in many working class Dublin communities. There is now enormous interest in horse ownership and every aspect of horses.
A positive aspect of horse ownership among children is that many of them had little interest in school and, therefore, had few opportunities to come into contact with nature. That is understandable given the concrete jungle surroundings in which many people in the Dublin area live. These children now have an opportunity to become involved with animals, their care and welfare. They learn equestrian skills and many of them are involved in ad hoc horse projects which are interesting pastimes for them. Those projects are a source of motivation for the children and, as my colleague Deputy Broughan remarked, it is not a coincidence that since horse ownership has greatly increased in the Dublin area, the incidence of joyriding has reduced significantly.
It is important that we recognise the favourable developments that have taken place in the recent years and the new traditions that have developed. The unfavourable aspect of horse ownership is the cruelty inflicted on some animals, the damage they cause to property and the danger they pose to young children and to motorists. For those reasons it is important that there be no delay in introducing this legislation.
I realise the Minister of State is probably not very enthusiastic about this idea, given that he is in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. That is not a reflection on him.
