Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

I can reassure Deputy Kerrane the Department of agriculture takes the issue of animal welfare, for which it has responsibility for, extremely seriously. While we cannot reference or specifically refer to individual cases that may be before the courts or are likely to be before the courts in the future, in terms of the overall approach to welfare, we are all horrified by the scenes we saw on the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last week. I commend RTÉ on the work it did in highlighting that specific case. A very active investigation is happening at the minute.

In terms of calf welfare, a huge number of processes and different measures are in place including significant funding streams to support that sector. It is something we take really seriously and will continue to do into the future.

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