Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 April 2022
253. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of times the period of use of frozen semen of a dead canine sire has been varied in consultation with a club under S.I. No. 561/2005 - Artificial Insemination of Greyhounds Regulations, 2005, Regulation 14(7); and the variation and the club involved. [18456/22]
View answerRásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The Board of Rásaíocht Con Éireann introduced regulation in 2005 specifically governing the practice of Artificial Insemination, The Artificial Insemination of Greyhounds Regulations, SI 561 of 2005. These regulations set out in detail the rules governing the practice of artificial insemination and whose remit it is to do so. A copy of these Regulations is attached for ease of reference
The Board's remit in these regulations is chiefly the issue of licences on an annual basis on appropriate recommendation from The Irish Coursing Club, who are Keepers of the Irish Greyhound Stud Book. The legislation covers how and where semen (domestic or imported) may be collected, stored, and covers additionally ancillary regulatory provisions under a number of headings.
The Irish Coursing Club has the regulatory responsibility to maintain all relevant records relating to the satisfaction of compliance of the regulations. This includes the number and type of matings carried out and subsequently registered by them. The ICC publishes metrics on matings and litters declared on a periodic basis and attached is a copy of such a publication which identifies whether the mating was carried out by Frozen Semen Implant (FSI) or Artificial Insemination (AI).
The regulations were amended in 2014 by the Artificial Insemination of Greyhounds (Amendment) Regulations SI 494 of 2014, which effectively removed the period of use for semen drawn more than 2 years from the death of a Stud (copy attached) .
