2767. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding any work ongoing to address animal cruelty concerns related to the tail docking of pigs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62779/26]

2768. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding inspection mechanisms to ensure that the practice of tail docking pigs is prevented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62780/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2767 and 2768 together.

There is EU legislation in place to protect the welfare of pigs which sets out detailed provisions on the housing, environmental conditions and management requirements for pigs that are kept for rearing or fattening. In addition, the legislation does not permit the routine docking of pigs tails; tail docking can only be carried out when there is evidence of tail biting and when other measures are taken on-farm to deal with tail biting risks.

My Department carries out risk-based inspections on pig farms each year to check compliance with the pig welfare legislation. Where non-compliances are identified, action is taken to address them.

My Department has implemented specific measures to help farmers manage tail biting risks on their farms. These include providing approximately 1600 free Animal Welfare Risk Assessments which have been carried out across approximately 400 pig farms to date. These assessments, which are overseen by Animal Health Ireland, focus specifically on tail biting risk factors and allow farmers to work with their veterinarian to create a farm specific action plan to address these risks.

Improving infrastructure on pig farms is important and significant funding has been made available to pig farmers under the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3), to build new, high-welfare pig housing, to include much more space for pigs, more comfortable flooring, better environmental enrichment and more feeding space.

Research is also key to moving forward in the area of pig welfare, and my Department has funded relevant research, for example on raising pigs with intact tails.

The European Commission has committed to reviewing the existing EU animal welfare legislation, including the legislation on pig welfare, and my Department will consider any such legislative proposals, provided they are grounded in the latest science, include reasonable transition periods and that supports are made available to farmers for the transition.

Pig welfare like all animal welfare is a priority for my Department and we will continue to strive to improve pig welfare through research, by providing supports to pig farmers as well as through effective oversight and regulation.