Vol. 468 No. 4
570 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Justice if regulations exist requiring that a licensed registration plate be visibly displayed on all carts and carriages drawn by a horse; and if so, the plans, if any, her Department has to enforce these regulations in view of the fact that they are being largely ignored. [15077/96]
I am informed by the Garda authorities that horse drawn carriages used in the Dublin area are licensed by the Garda Commissioner. The law is contained in the Dublin Carriage Bye-laws, 1946 which are made under the Dublin Carriage Act 1853. Each licensed vehicle must have a plate affixed to it bearing the number of the licence issued by the Carriage Office. Inspections by personnel at the Carriage Department have disclosed no breaches of the Regulations.
The Commissioner has no responsibility for the licensing of horse drawn carriages outside the DMA.
Under the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Act, 1851 it is an offence if the owner of a cart or carriage fails to have his name and address painted upon some conspicuous part of the right offside of the vehicle. Statistics of the number of prosecutions taken under this Act are contained in the Garda Síochána Annual Report on Crime, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library. It is not possible, however, to say how many of these prosecutions were in respect of the above mentioned offence.
