Paul Murphy
Question:393. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of prosecutions for horse welfare offences from 2020 to 2025 and to date in 2026. [31793/26]
View answerThursday, 30 April 2026
Questions (393)
Written answers
Animal welfare is a key priority for me as Minister and for the Government. The welfare of equines is protected by legislation and there is a commitment in the Programme for Government to prioritise equine welfare and to build on existing inspectorate supports across the country, ensuring a consistent approach to dealing with horse welfare. It must be emphasised that primary responsibility for the health and welfare of equines lies with the owner or keeper.
My Department is committed to the continued robust enforcement of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, which provides a modern framework for regulating and applying standards in the area of animal health and welfare. In this regard, my Department and authorised officers appointed under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, including An Garda Síochána, Customs agents, local authorities and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) undertake appropriate enforcement action, where breaches or shortcomings are identified.
Since the Act came into operation in March 2014, 226 cases have been successfully prosecuted of which 21 cases related to equines. From 2020 to date in 2026, 14 prosecutions were in connection with equines. With regards to prosecutions specifically involving equines, the figures represent cases that have been finalised and do not include additional cases going through the courts and/or cases that are in the process of being prepared for prosecution.
My Department keeps the Act under review in light of key developments in the area of animal welfare, the legislative environment more generally, and having regard to the practical lessons learned from operating the Act.
In 2025, a process was initiated to develop a new animal welfare strategy, which will act as a framework for engagement and collaboration to direct future activities with the aim of benefiting both animals and Irish society. Development of the strategy is now well underway following broad stakeholder engagement including a non-statutory public consultation. In excess of 1750 individual submissions were received as part of that process.
The new strategy will continue to adopt a ‘One Health, One Welfare’ approach, acknowledging and valuing the inter-dependencies between human, animal and environmental health, and taking an evidence-led approach to policy making, target-setting, monitoring and evaluation. I expect the new welfare strategy to be completed in Q2 2026.
My Department operates a confidential animal welfare helpline through which members of the public can report incidents of animal cruelty or neglect for investigation. The dedicated email address and helpline in place for reporting suspected cases of animal welfare are:
Helpline Phone No: 01 607 2379. Email address - animalwelfare@agriculture.gov.ie []