I welcome the Minister to the House.
Adjournment Matters. - Dublin Horse Owners' Association.
Thank you for the opportunity to raise the concerns of the Dublin Horse Owners' Association and, as they see it, the lack of implementation of the Government's recommendations on local horse projects. There have been protests outside Leinster House for two consecutive weeks by the Dublin Horse Owners' Association about what they regard as the over-stringent implementation of the Control of Horses Act, 1996, and, more particularly, the lack of progress in terms of support for local horse projects by the Dublin local authorities.
The association's press statement of 5 February 1998 states:
The Dublin Horse Owners' Association are marching on the Dáil today to highlight their dissatisfaction with the local authorities failure to implement the Government recommendations which allows for individual horse projects to be set in place. We are aware that resources have been set aside in the Department of Agriculture Estimates for 1998-9 for this purpose.
The Minister's colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Davern, answered a parliamentary question in this regard on 18 December 1997, which was tabled by Proinsias De Rossa, and pointed out that £2.75 million — if my memory serves me right — was provided in the Department's 1998 Estimates for this purpose. The statement continues:
But mindless bureaucrats in the local authorities are frustrating both the will of the Government and the horse owners.
As recent as the last week of January 1998, the Taoiseach said on national television that the Fianna Fáil Party put people before politics. He was taken up on that statement by Dublin horse owners where he was invited to meet with them to discuss the urban horse issue in a more positive way than it has been dealt with to date. Dublin horse owners are saddened to realise from the Taoiseach that his schedule is too heavy to make time for the Dublin people he claims to represent.
The Dublin Horse Owners' Association are calling on the Taoiseach to come on board with the Dublin people and work with them in a more positive way. We are calling on the Taoiseach to press the local authorities to implement the Government's recommendations regarding local/urban horse projects. They include: support the setting up of local horse projects; resources; allow for enjoyment of horse ownership; not to impede the right to own a horse and recognition of Dublin horse owners' personality and culture.
The statement is signed by Angela Boylan, Vicky McElligott and Bob Draper, who include their telephone numbers.
Wandering horses have been an intractable problem in the greater Dublin area for some years. Before anyone can claim the right to own a horse they must also talk about their duty to the welfare of the horse and to the safety of pedestrians and motorists in the immediate area. That proviso underlies all the remarks I will make. We must get the balance right.
The question is whether the Control of Horses Act has the balance right. I pose that as a rhetorical question. It was enacted in December 1996 by my colleague, the former Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan. The legislation was introduced to control wandering horses in urban areas. The Act provided for the designation by the local authority, through by-laws, of control areas in which horses cannot be kept without a licence. Time does not permit me to go into the details but the Minister and I know what the Bill contains in relation to the designation of areas, licensing, microchipping and impounding of horses.
One must satisfy certain requirements in order to have one's horse released from a pound, and stringent penalties are involved. We must secure responsible, welfare-friendly maintenance and ownership of horses, and we must respect the urban horse culture. However, we must respect the rights of those who are not interested in horses not to have their welfare and safety threatened by uncontrolled horses. It is a difficult balancing act, and I am not sure that the balance is right. The Minister should ensure that in the implementation of the Control of Horses Act, only uncontrolled horses that are wandering the roads are impounded. He should allow time for those who love their horses to comply with the Act and the by-laws of local authority areas. There are 3,000 horses "wandering" Dublin, and 2,000 are in the South Dublin County Council area.
There is huge interest in setting up various horse projects, but these will take time and organisation. The Minister must ensure that time is given to responsible persons who wish to organise clubs and projects. Resources must be made available to local authorities to provide land and facilities for those who wish to look after their horses and to organise their interests responsibly.
Those organisations include the Ballymun Animal Care Association, the Fettercairn Project, the Quarryvale Horse and Pony Club and the proposed Cherry Orchard Equine Centre. The last named is becoming contentious, and I hope the horse owners and the development committee resolve their differences. The Cherry Orchard Equine Centre must provide for the interests and needs of local horseowners as well as setting up a training scheme to interest people in the Racing Apprentice Centre.
I compliment the DSPCA for their wonderful welfare work against the odds and with a limited budget, and I thank the Minister for providing £100,000 in extra funding for it this year. In 1996 the DSPCA looked after 268 injured, diseased and starving animals in Dublin; an additional 120 animals that could not respond to treatment had to be put down humanely. The Blue Cross Animal Welfare Society does excellent work with its horse ambulances and mobile clinics, as does the International League for the Protection of Horses. These organisations are often fighting against the odds to try to resolve difficulties.
The vast majority of urban horse owners look after their horses reasonably well. They may not be fenced into a totally controlled area, but the horses are in quite good condition. They are grazed on vast open spaces so their nutrition is relatively good. I am concerned by provisions in the Act which require horse owners to have stable facilities of 12 feet by 12 feet. That could increase horses' suffering. Coloured horses, by their nature, are hardy. Horses are a herd animal and like to graze in herds and on the move. If they are confined to small makeshift stables in back gardens, many will probably not be fed properly and they will be unable to fend for themselves. They will not be able to exercise and they need a minimum of one hour's exercise per day. This increases the likelihood of cruelty and welfare problems.
Where and when will these housed horses be exercised? On highways and in housing estates? That is not the answer, and it is a problem in the Act that the Minister should look at. Horses must be controlled in properly fenced areas; I do not argue with that. There are plenty of temporary areas that could be made available to the horse projects. However, the crossbred coloured horse should not be housed, unless high quality housing and husbandry are available. A bad situation will be made worse if we insist on housing. In the open the horses can be viewed, and obvious cases of cruelty can be spotted, reported and acted upon. If they are stuck in makeshift stables, in sheds, the likelihood of cruelty is increased.
Many people are also interested in having proper courses to train group leaders in horsemanship. Those people could go back to their projects and expand others' knowledge. FÁS could be involved in many training schemes. Huge job opportunities exist in various areas of horsemanship, and employment agencies cannot fill vacancies with sufficient numbers of trained people. People are being brought from Germany, New Zealand and Sweden to fill vacancies in many Irish yards.
There is a huge traditional love of the horse among the sons and daughters of the carters of Guinness, B & I and other companies. Very few of these horses are owned by travellers; this is an urban horse problem, not a traveller horse problem. With goodwill, we can work with these people to resolve this problem. We need the implementation of the Act and controls, but we must ensure that local authority officials are not threatened as they implement the Act. We must look at the stabling issue and work with these young people, who are often marginalised. If their horses are removed abruptly, we will get their backs up and they will work against us. It would cost far more to resolve the problems that would ensue from that situation. There is goodwill on this issue that we can work with, and we must ensure the local authorities can do likewise.
I noted the welcome of the Cathaoirleach, but I do not intend to stay here longer than it takes to deal with any matter before me. I will not be getting in the way of any Senator on any panel for some time.
I thank Senator Doyle for raising this matter. She speaks from a position of knowledge of the horse industry. I congratulate her on her recent elevation and her contribution to the horse industry. Much of the promotion of the Irish equine industry is being done by voluntary organisations. The Irish horse is a great marketing tool; it is known world wide and rated highly.
I have taken an interest in urban horses since my appointment. I was aware that Deputy Deenihan, when Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry had introduced the Control of Horses Act, 1996. Its primary role is to control wandering horses and to ensure that they do not endanger the public. Wandering horses have been responsible for some horrific accidents. The recent accident at Chapelizod that involved a coachload of children was allegedly caused by horses being ridden across a major road. There was a recent and more tragic accident in Galway, in which a young life was lost because of a horse wandering on the road. These graphically illustrate the consequences of not tackling this problem speedily and effectively. No matter what other pressures may be exerted, we must not lose sight of this reality. I find it exacerbating from time to time when horses wander along the final furlong at Leopardstown and other such places and are unable to get over the line. Wandering horses are a problem in many areas.
The Act contains a comprehensive range of measures aimed at controlling horses. These measures will for the most part be operated by local authorities. They have been given extensive powers under the legislation. The Department of Agriculture and Food paid out £1 million to local authorities in 1997 to assist them in implementing the Act. I have made provision for a further £2.75 million for this purpose in the Department's Estimates for 1998. I am aware that the Act is being actively implemented by three of the four Dublin local authorities. The fourth has drafted the necessary by-laws for which the necessary approval of local elected representatives will shortly be sought, after which I expect that it too will begin to fully implement the Act. I am aware that a number of other local authorities which have horse problems have also begun to implement the Act.
As Senator Avril Doyle said, this is a major problem which is not easy to address. There are 3,000 wandering horses in Dublin city, most of which are in the south side of the city. There is considerable relief in areas of Dublin and elsewhere that the problem is being tackled. Such sentiment, for a variety of reasons, is rarely openly and publicly expressed and consequently is not reflected in the media. It is nonetheless widespread, as I am sure public representatives from areas which have been particularly badly affected by the problem of loose horses know. I am also aware that threats have been made by a small number of individuals against local authority officials and those acting on their behalf in implementing the Act.
I took an interest in this problem as soon as I became Minister. I met people involved in the Cherry Orchard project. One of those who put a lot of time into this project was Mr. Eddie Harty who, Members will recall, won the Grand National on Highland Wedding and who was also an accomplished showjumper. He has tremendous experience of horsemanship. I put those involved in this project in contact with FÁS, the racing school in Kildare and riding, racing and stud establishments. We know that if young people who love horses and are able to ride them without winkers, reins or saddles get proper training at an early age, they could develop good opportunities for themselves. I hope they avail of these contacts as there are opportunities at all levels of the equine industry.
A substantial amount of land has been acquired at Cherry Orchard and facilities, including stabling facilities, will be provided to exercise the horses. Substantial resources will be put into that over the next year or two. Many commercial companies have also contributed to this project.
Many other projects have also been set up. If a local authority becomes involved with a local community or organisation and requests grant aid from the Department of Agriculture and Food, it will get it. There are two aspects to this Act — to control wandering horses and to assist and encourage people to take care of horses and to get proper training and support. It will be difficult to do the two things but it can be done. Local communities seem to have real problems dealing with local authorities. Perhaps it is personality differences but that should not be the case. In most situations local authorities are very helpful to local communities and work along with them rather than pulling in the opposite direction.
While the Act has as its primary objective the control of wandering horses, there is nothing in the legislation which need necessarily impede anyone who wishes to put in place arrangements — based on responsible maintenance and control of horses and accord with by-laws introduced by the appropriate local authorities — for the enjoyment of horses by young people in urban areas . I am conscious of the fact that a number of urban horse projects are being developed with the objective of equipping young people with an indepth knowledge of horses and their management and of allowing them continue to enjoy horses in a safe, controlled acceptable environment which takes account of the interests and concerns of the Act and those living in the areas in question. Such projects are a positive development and I welcome them. I have met with local communities — and will do so again — if they wish to discuss this matter with me. They can contact Jim Beecher and others in the Department of Agriculture and Food who are deeply committed to the horse industry and helping local communities in this area.
Will the Minister look at stabling requirements in the Act?
I will. That is one of the key areas of the Act. As already mentioned, I have provided £2.75 million in the Department's Estimates for 1988 to assist local authorities in the implementation of the Control of Horses Act, 1996. Of that amount I have earmarked £0.75 million for relevant local authorities to assist urban horse projects.
To clear up what appears to be a misconception, I should make it clear that no guidelines or instructions have been issued to local authorities in relation to the treatment of urban horse projects. The Department of Agriculture and Food has, however, explained to them that in any instance in which a local authority is supporting and involved in a particular urban horse project within the context of implementing the Control of Horses Act, grant assistance will be available from the Department, through the local authority, to help support the project in question. In all cases grants will be paid to the local authority rather than to the project. Grant assistance will not be available to a project which does not have the support and involvement of the local authority within the functional area in which it is located. In other words, support for urban horse projects is in the first instance something which falls to be considered by each local authority. This is entirely appropriate as local circumstances and factors must be among the primary determinants in assessing the merits of individual projects. Moneys in support of one particular urban horse project were advanced in 1997 by means of this mechanism. I envisage further assistance being provided this year. It is open to any local authority implementing the Act to consider availing of such assistance for a project it supports. I stress, however, that the question of which projects are to be supported is in the first instance a matter which falls to be dealt with by local communities. I will seek to ensure that each local community is pointed in the right direction and given every assistance possible.
I afforded the Taoiseach the honour and privilege of turning the first soil at the Cherry Orchard Hospital project as it was closer to his bailiwick than mine.