Vol. 544 No. 1
158 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the number of horse projects which have been funded by his Department to assist the implementation of the Control of Horses Act, 1996; the amount of funding provided in each case; and the criteria for qualifying for such funding. [28189/01]
The Control of Horses Act, 1996, was introduced to address the problem of wandering horses, mainly in urban areas. The Act assigns to local authorities the primary role for dealing with wandering horses and provides for the designation, by local authority by-laws, of control areas in which horses cannot be kept without a licence.
The Act has also resulted in the establishment of equine projects for horse owners, where the relevant local authority has considered that its support for such a project is consistent with the implementation of the Act. My Department is empowered by the Act to make grants available to local authorities towards expenses they incur in implementing the Act. Any grant assistance where horse projects are involved is and can only be provided to the relevant local authority, which must have an actual involvement in the project.
To date, three horse projects have been assisted under the Act. These were Fettercairn, Cherry Orchard and Quarryvale in Dublin. The amounts involved were £391,914, £1,425,296 and £3,872, respectively, totalling £1,821,083. Subject to resource constraints, my Department will continue to support projects of this kind provided they are advocated and supported by the relevant local authority.
