Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 July 2006
368 Mr. O’Dowd asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the grants allocated to local authorities to meet their expenses in implementing the Control of Horses Act 1996 for each year since 2002; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26689/06]
View answerThe 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.
The Minister is empowered by the Act to make grants available to local authorities towards the expenses they incur in its implementation. These would include the establishment and maintenance of pounds, payments in respect of horse-seizure services, and salary costs of staff involved in the control of horses.
As well as assisting with operational aspects, funding has been provided towards the establishment of equine projects, where the relevant local authority has considered that its support for such a project is consistent with the implementation of the Act.
Grants allocated to local authorities by my Department are as follows:
|
€m |
|
|
2002 |
2.4 |
|
2003 |
2.1 |
|
2004 |
1.7 |
|
2005 |
1.9 |
|
2006 (to 30th June 2006) |
0.8 |
