Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 23 Oct 2001

Vol. 542 No. 5

Written Answers. - Animal Welfare Services.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

217 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the Government's policy regarding the growing problem of feral cats; and the funding the Government plans to make available to organisations (details supplied) to assist in the work of dealing with this problem. [20973/01]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh)

My Department does not operate any specific schemes of financial assistance to animal welfare bodies. In recent years, however, I have made ex gratia funding available to a number of appropriate bodies. Grants totalling £487,500 were awarded to 43 organisations involved in the delivery of animal care and welfare services throughout the country in respect of the year 2000. The organisations concerned had approached the Department seeking assistance.

Details of the grant payments are as follows:

Organisation	Amountof Grant£
Westmeath SPCA	5,000
*North West Cat Rescue	7,500
Dungarvan SPCA Rescue Kennels	5,000
Laois SPCA	5,000
Hillview Animal Sanctuary	5,000
Mayo Animal Welfare	5,000
Friends of Animals Rescue Centre	5,000
Galway SPCA	12,500
Clare SPCA	7,500
Roscommon SPCA	5,000
Kildare Animal Foundation	35,000
Sligo SPCA	5,000
Leitrim Animal Welfare Trust	7,500
*The Cats Protection Association of Ireland	7,500
Longford SPCA	5,000
WILD! Prevention of Cruelty to Exotic Animals	5,000
Petwatch Co. Ltd	7,500
Rose Cottage Animal Sanctuary	5,000
Tipperary SPCA	7,500
Blue Cross	7,500
West Cork Animal Welfare Group	7,500
Wicklow SPCA	15,000
Westown Animal Sanctuary	5,000
The Monkey Sanctuary	5,000
The Ann Vousden Puppy Rescue Foundation	12,500
Wexford SPCA	5,000
Louth SPCA	5,000
Animal Sanctuary, Collon	12,500
*Kingdom Cats Protection SPCA	5,000
Carlow SPCA	5,000
Dog's Aid, Artane	5,000
PAWS Animal Rescue	15,000
Tipperary Friends of Animals	5,000
DSPCA	35,000
Roscrea SPCA	5,000
Limerick Animal Welfare	7,500
ISPCA	70,000
Clonakilty Donkey Home	7,500
The Donkey Sanctuary	35,000
Meath SPCA	12,500
Kildare SPCA	15,000
Mayo Animal Sanctuary Appeal	7,500

These grants cover organisations active in 21 counties and an asterisk denotes those which deal specifically with cats.

As indicated a grant of £7,500 was paid to The Cat Protection Society of Ireland in respect of 2000. As the payment of such aid is invariably an end-of-year exercise depending on the resources available out of my Department's Vote any disbursements are entirely contingent on funds being available at year-end for this purpose. I will consider requests for aid in respect of this year from cat protection organisations in the light of any resources that may become available and having regard to any competing claims for grant assistance which may be submitted by other welfare bodies, many of which deal with various categories of animals, including cats. A formal statutory framework for cat control is already provided for under the Control of Dogs Act, 1986 which is administered by the Department for the Environment and Local Government. That Act provides for the introduction of regulations in relation to cats.