I will begin by wishing our colleague Deputy Jennifer Whitmore a speedy recovery. We look forward to welcoming her back to the House. I read this morning that she was taken to hospital. All of us on these benches wish her a speedy recovery.

Aréir, thuairiscigh "RTÉ Investigates" an mí-úsáid uafásach, an cruálacht agus an drochíde capall ar an seamlas amháin atá againn atá ceadaithe sa Stát seo. Teastaíonn gníomhú láithreach ar an mí-úsáid a thuairiscíodh agus caithfear an dlí iomlán a chur ar na daoine atá freagrach as seo. Ní féidir linn glacadh leis an chruálacht a chonaic muid ar an gclár teilifíse aréir. Caithfidh an Rialtas scrúdú láithreach a chur ar bun. Last night, "RTÉ Investigates" reported shocking abuse and cruelty at our only licensed abattoir at Shannonside Foods Limited in Straffan, County Kildare. This mistreatment was very distressing for many people. It included the repeated beatings of dying horses. In one instance, a fallen horse that was unable to get back on its feet had a pitchfork thrust into its side. The horse died hours later after this suffering had been inflicted on it. These appalling incidents were filmed in the buildings used by Shannonside Foods Limited to house horses before they are sent across to the kill room in the slaughterhouse, which is supervised by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. That Department has somebody on site.

Professor Chris Elliott of Queen's University Belfast led the independent review of the British food system after the 2013 horsemeat scandal. He said that what he saw was nothing like he experienced before. Involving the breaking of all regulations on the treatment and welfare of animals, he rightly called it out as a scandal.

Anyone who watched last night's documentary will have been distressed and appalled. People in this country have a great love for horses. I know the comfort that those with special needs and autism get from horses. Indeed, many people refer to these animals as angels with hooves. They demand respect and care. What was reported last night demands immediate action and accountability. I commend the journalist who brought this matter to the public's attention and who brought this cruelty and mistreatment to light.

It has been uncovered that approximately 2,000 horses were slaughtered in Shannonside Foods Limited in Kildare last year alone. Two thirds of those animals were bred for the horse racing industry. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said it had staff on the premises when those horses were slaughtered. It also indicated that no welfare issues were noted on the days when this mistreatment took place. A question that many people are asking this morning is how this mistreatment happened under the very nose of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. What is clear is that the law has been broken. I understand that the Department and An Garda Síochána have begun an investigation on foot of the shocking findings of "RTÉ Investigates". I welcome that. However, questions must be asked as to whether supervision at this site was adequate, particularly in light of the cruelty and abuse taking place literally a stone's throw away from the slaughterhouse in which the departmental official was sitting and supervising. People are asking how could it be that this building just yards away did not fall under the remit of the Department. What has also been raised in the context of last night's programme is the potential for compromise of the human food chains with evidence of identify falsification, with one animal welfare officer inserting false identification microchips into the horses.

Will the Minister ensure that the full weight of the law is brought down on those responsible for the cruelty and mistreatment reported in last night's programme? What is the Government going to do to enhance supervision to ensure that this never happens again? Has the Minister been in contact with European counterparts regarding the possible contamination of human food chains as a result of the misidentification and laundering of Irish horses?

I thank Deputy Doherty. I join him in wishing our colleague Deputy Jennifer Whitmore all the best. I did not realise she had taken ill. All our thoughts are with her today. Briefly, I want to congratulate the fantastic 4x400 m relay team of Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley that had phenomenal success winning a silver medal at the European Championships. We are all so proud of them. We have two gold medals and two silver medals now. It is a phenomenal haul. Hearing the young kids on the radio this morning, there is no doubt that they will be inspired by the incredible success of the team. We are all so proud of those involved.

I thank the Deputy for raising the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last night. I had the opportunity to watch the programme and, like him, I was sickened and appalled by what I saw in the context of the mistreatment of beautiful animals. It is important to state that there is no question that the treatment we witnessed on last night's programme is not representative of the wider equine industry or of the love and care that owners of horses throughout the country display for their animals every day. I know all of those people who love their animals and their horses and care for them deeply will have been appalled and shocked by what we witnessed last night. I join the Deputy in acknowledging the tremendous work of Conor Ryan, a fantastic investigative journalist with RTÉ, and the whole team that works on "RTÉ Investigates". The programme is an example of public service broadcasting at its best. We owe those involved a debt of gratitude for the work they have done.

There has been contact in recent weeks between RTÉ and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Department initiated an investigation into this issue some weeks ago. That work is ongoing. The Deputy asked a specific question about the role of the Department's inspectors. It would appear at this point that the appalling mistreatment that we witnessed on our television screens was happening in a holding building rather than the slaughterhouse, which is a regulated area and where the Department's inspector would have been present. All of that is now the subject of a thorough investigation on the part of the Department of agriculture. That work is under way.

The Government unreservedly condemns the scenes we witnessed. The full force of the law will be applied where breaches are proven in a court of law. We need to allow that process to take its course and not to say anything that would be prejudicial to the investigations being carried out. Clearly, An Garda Síochána is very much aware of what happened in this instance and is taking appropriate action as well.

A number of wider issues came to the fore in the programme in the context of traceability, the use and misuse of microchips and fake passporting in respect of horses. What emerged gives rise to concerns about public health as well as animal welfare. If animals ended up in the European Union food chain that should not have because of chemicals that had been injected into them previously, then that is a cause for real concern. It was evident last night that the European Commission is very actively working on this issue. There is engagement between the Department of agriculture and the European Commission and there is full co-operation by all the relevant national authorities in respect of the work under way at European level. Our priority is to protect animal welfare but also public health. Serious concerns have arisen in respect of both following the scenes we witnessed on last night's programme.

I thank the Minister. I agree with him. Anybody who watched that programme last night could not be anything but shocked, appalled and sickened to their core at the distressing images that were presented. This morning I am struggling to find out some information. The Minister may be able to shed some light on it. This is the only licensed abattoir in the State. Is it still operating? Is it business as usual? Is this company still operating this abattoir this week? Will there be slaughtering of animals there? Does the Department of agriculture still only have supervision of the slaughterhouse? Is it the case that it does not have oversight of the building located just a couple of yards away in which the cruelty was happening and images from which were shown to us last night because it is technically not an official part of the slaughterhouse? We obviously have to let An Garda Síochána conduct its investigation, but there is a responsibility on us to ensure that practices such as animal welfare officers - as was shown on the programme - inserting false identification microchips into horses, the beating and the stabbing with a pitchfork of a dying horse, and the whipping of horses are not allowed to happen.

It is absolutely intolerable. With all the other issues that have to be dealt with such as passports and identifications, will this business still continue? Is the Government still happy for the business to continue as it is? Do we now have oversight of all buildings on that yard?

A full investigation is under way. It has been under way for a number of weeks. The abattoir where the slaughtering is taking place is a regulated environment. I want to be clear that the animal welfare rules apply everywhere. They apply also in the holding area even if that is not the area where the inspection was actually taking place, which is in the slaughterhouse itself. In the holding area, the same animal welfare rules apply. What we saw on our television screens exposed by RTÉ's "Prime Time Investigates" was abhorrent to anyone who has any shred of decency. Anyone who has a love of animals will have been appalled by it. That is why the full force of the law will be applied here. This investigation needs to be allowed to take its course. The Department is now on this in every respect that we would expect it to be, including with direct engagement, supervision and regulation of these particular commercial premises.

Before I begin, I send the best wishes of the Labour Party to Deputy Jennifer Whitmore.

Last night's "Prime Time Investigates" exposed some shocking practices in the Irish horse racing industry focusing on how horses, most of them racing thoroughbreds, are treated in the final period of their lives. After a life which many of them spent in the public spotlight being worked, they then enter what appears to be a very murky chain. It is nearly 150 years since Anna Sewell wrote Black Beauty about the appalling treatment of horses in Victorian England. Yet here we are again with serious questions to be asked about what happens when a horse is retired with traceability issues for up to 20,000 animals a year. There was a famous ad once in Ireland asking "who is taking the horse to France?". This scandal shows that we still do not know and we do not who is watching them.

This sector receives gigantic levels of funding from the Exchequer through a ring-fenced statutory fund. We now have a clear sense of the murky and illegal practices that are going on. Our eyes should have been opened when the horsemeat scandal exploded in 2013. Now we have evidence of alleged illegal activity at the one processing plant in Kildare with microchips being inserted into horses to create false identities. The system is clearly broken and being abused, all under the nose of the Department of agriculture. The safety of the human food chain is not being taken seriously. The only conclusion to be drawn from using false microchips and spray paint to change the hair colour is that these animals would not pass otherwise. Human health is being put at risk and horses are being abused.

We recognise that the Horse and Greyhound Fund supports thousands of jobs in the sector, many of which are critical to the rural economy. However, we must demand the highest standards - standards that are nowhere near being met. What has emerged is a major reputational blow again for Ireland and it calls into question the ongoing approach of the Government to protect the status quo. Over the last two years the Labour Party has tabled amendments to the horse and greyhound regulation. We have asked for a full independent review to see how best to support these sectors, those involved in it and the rural communities it supports, but also critically how the highest standards of animal welfare are implemented and complied with.

What emerged last night raises serious questions for the Department of agriculture and for Horse Racing Ireland which appear to be asleep at the wheel. If RTÉ had not carried out its investigation would anything have been exposed or changed and what would be happening in that abattoir today? We have also called for review to look at how the rights of workers in the sector can be improved and the need for a sectoral employment order to set minimum rates of pay and conditions. Low rates of pay and insecure work leave people vulnerable to unscrupulous practices and pressure to turn a blind eye to what is going on. What will be done to once and for all stamp out illegal practices that have again been uncovered in the horse sector? Will animals be allowed to continue down to Shannonside Foods until we are certain these practices are not ongoing? Are animals going in there today? Does the Minister believe the Department of agriculture and Horse Racing Ireland are fit for purpose? Does he now concede that there must be a review of the Horse and Greyhound Fund including animal welfare practices?

I can assure Deputy Smith that any legal practices will be dealt with using the full force of the law. I agree with him that the highest standards must apply throughout the equine industry. I know he has not done this and it would be wrong for anyone to seek to portray what we witnessed last night on RTÉ "Prime Time Investigates" as representative of the wider equine industry because I genuinely do not believe it is. The Government supports the equine industry because it is a very important part of the Irish economy and a very important part of our society as well. It contributes almost €2.5 billion in economic output every year and supports almost 30,000 jobs across the Irish economy. As we know, these jobs are particularly important in the regions and around rural Ireland. Almost €16 million of the funding the State gives to HRI is ring-fenced and for welfare and indeed for integrity. Animal welfare and integrity are specifically funded and the Government insists on the highest standards throughout the system. Clearly what we witnessed last night is evidence that that is not the case everywhere, and that will be dealt with.

There is a full-time veterinary presence in the slaughter plant on the days on which slaughter takes place. Ante mortem, post mortem and identity checks are carried out in accordance with the legal obligations. I am assured that the Department takes any issues of non-compliance with welfare or traceability rules extremely seriously. That is why as soon as this matter was brought to its attention through the contact RTÉ had with the Department in recent weeks, a formal investigation was initiated and is now under way. We need to allow that to take its course. We are satisfied that sufficient statutory powers are there and indeed very strong statutory penalties for any proven breach of the rules in this regard. The Department treats this with the utmost seriousness.

Can the Minister give a categorical guarantee that this is not happening today and that there are now vets in Shannonside every day, not just when the slaughter is happening? Regarding animal welfare, we are putting €95 million of taxpayers' money into the Horse and Greyhound Fund, with €76 million going into Horse Racing Ireland. Animal welfare is not just about animal welfare on the gallops, the paddocks, the stables or the racecourse. It is from cradle to the end but that has failed here. We do not know if there are other animal rights abuses. We cannot have confidence at all that this is the only place that is falling down. This is a massive issue given the amount of taxpayers' money going into this.

Anyone who watched the "Prime Time Investigates" programme last night will have had their stomachs turned by the practices they witnessed. We need a categorical guarantee that this is not happening today. We cannot wait for an investigation to conclude. This practice must stop now. We have called for the betting levy to be increased to provide funding for other sports and for a fairer allocation of taxpayers' money in this area. What is happening today only adds further power to those calls. We need higher standards across our equine industry.

I wish to make clear that the funding that is provided by the State is primarily for thoroughbred horse racing, a very important part of our economy and a really important part of the fabric of regional and rural Ireland. I do not for a moment believe that what we witnessed on RTÉ's "Prime Time Investigates" is representative of the wider equine industry. It is important that we all put that on the record because many people in the industry today are very hurt and angry that the reputation of the wider industry gets called into question because of the practices of a very small number of people.

The holding area in question is under investigation. That is being actively managed at this moment in time. On any day when there is activity in the abattoir, a Department of agriculture vet is present on site. That work continues in parallel with this investigation which is being afforded the level of priority by the Department that we would expect.