Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I cannot believe this could happen in Ireland in 2024. I just cannot believe it. I take this opportunity to compliment the three women who brought this matter forward, and also RTÉ, of which we can be very critical but which we have to compliment on this occasion regarding the job they did that the Department failed to do. What was going on is scandalous. I had to stop watching the programme. I just could not believe that we could see such cruelty to animals in this country in 2024. If there is one thing Irish people love, it is their animals. They love their dogs and their horses. They just love their animals.

I have a number of questions. The programme showed three sheds. One was where the officials from the Department could go on a regular basis to examine what was going on there. Why could the Department inspectors not go into the other two sheds? Could somebody not see that something was going on? Surely to God at some stage they heard animals in there? Why was something not done about that? Why was this not done by the inspectors, even if they needed a court order to go in and do what needed to be done?