Animal welfare is a key priority for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and considerable resources and funding are provided to support animal welfare charities and organisations involved in rescuing and rehoming animals through the Annual Welfare Grant Programme.
In December 2022, my Department awarded record funding of €5.8 million to 99 animal welfare charities throughout the country. This included a substantial contribution to the organisation in question. Of the €5.8m awarded to animal welfare charities in 2022, €4.7m was provided to charities working with dogs and this money contributes to supporting re-homing schemes run by some of the recipient charities.
In January, I convened a working group on the control of dogs along with Minister Humphreys, and the report of this group has been approved by cabinet and published. Its recommendations include a campaign on responsible dog ownership, which will be driven by my Department and the Department of Rural and Community Development.
The 2023 application process for grants from my Department for animal welfare charities will open in the coming weeks, demonstrating my Department's ongoing commitment to supporting the valuable work of these organisations in the future.
