I welcome the announcement this morning by the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, of €3.7 million for charities that deal with animal welfare. I know he is currently reviewing the animal welfare strategy in his Department. What does the Government plan to do in its lifetime in terms of improving rights for animals? I refer in particular to the issue of horse welfare in my constituency. At present, there is no full-time designated official in Cork City Council or Cork County Council looking after animal welfare issues, there are no designated control areas as per the legislation under the Animal Welfare Act, there have been no prosecutions by An Garda Síochána and you can count on one hand the number of prosecutions the two councils have undertaken in recent years. I ask the Minister to provide me with some kind of answer on that issue or to speak to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in respect of updating the House on the plan for animal welfare.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and for his continued interest in this matter. I will raise the specific issue with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. The additional funding he has provided will be very much welcomed and put to good use. It is important to state that there is already extensive legislation in place that imposes clear legal obligations in the context of animal welfare. We now need to see enforcement of those regulations. The Minister will revert to the Deputy on the specific point raised.