Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 September 2016
126. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons that were convicted in the courts of animal abuse in each of the years 2013, 2014, 2015 and to date in 2016. [27237/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions, which includes the provision of information on the courts system. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has provided the information set out in the following table.
|
Years |
No. of Persons Convicted |
|
Jan – Dec 2013 |
23 |
|
Jan - Dec 2014 |
21 |
|
Jan – Dec 2015 |
16 |
|
Jan – Jul 2016 |
2 |
Note:
- It is considered that abuse of animals as referenced in the question relates to cruelty to animals.
- It should be noted that the Courts Service cannot certify that the above data represents all convictions for cruelty to animals. Data can only be provided where standard offence codes on Criminal Case Tracking System for cruelty to animals are used by prosecutors. Prosecutors may have used an uncoded free text code against which the Courts Service cannot report.
