Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

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.

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