Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 February 2021
353. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of complaints his Department received regarding animal welfare in publicly funded facilities between January 2017 and December 2020; the counties in which the facilities were located; and the nature of these complaints. [7798/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department follows up on all complaints and notifications received concerning animal welfare. Many of these calls come in through the Animal Welfare Helpline where members of the public can contact my officials by phone or via a dedicated email address AnimalWelfare@agriculture.gov.ie.
Investigations are carried out by officers authorised under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, who may be officials of my Department, members of An Garda Síochána, Customs and Excise or authorised officers of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In addition, the Chief Executive of each Local Authority may appoint authorised officers to exercise functions under the Act in the functional area of the Local Authority concerned.
Reports concern a wide range of species and while some issues can be addressed relatively easily in collaboration with the owner or keeper of the animals concerned, there have been over 100 prosecutions since the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 came into operation in March 2014.
Attached below are statistics on the number of complaints received by my Department through this Helpline, by county for the years 2017 to 2020:
