‘No need’ for animal welfare committee in Tipperary, says council
There is “no need” for the local authority to establish an animal welfare committee in Tipperary, a meeting has heard.
Councillor Michael ‘Chicken’ Brennan tabled a motion at the April plenary meeting of Tipperary County Council calling for the establishment of a dedicated animal welfare committee to improve animal welfare across the county.
In his motion, Cllr Brennan said that currently, animal welfare issues often involve multiple parties, while having a dedicated committee would improve communications and outcomes for animals involved.
The proposed committee would improve communication between the council, gardaí, the Department of Agriculture, the ISPCA, vets, and welfare groups.
The committee would also examine enforcement challenges and suggest opportunities for improved multi-agency cooperation, as well as promoting public awareness of responsible animal ownership and welfare standards.
However, in a reply to Cllr Brennan, the council said it wasn’t considered necessary to set up such a committee.
"Under current legislation, Tipperary County Council does not hold responsibility for animal welfare. Responsibility for the welfare, protection and enforcement of standards relating to animals rests with the Department of Agriculture, the ISPCA and An Garda Síochána.
"Given that the council has no statutory mandate in the area of animal welfare, any proposed change in policy direction, such as the establishment of a dedicated animal welfare committee that would be effective and collaborative would require agreements and consideration at a national stakeholder level,” the reply said.
The motion received widespread support in the council chamber, though some councillors were concerned that the proposed committee would be a “talking shop" without any real powers to do anything.
Sinn Féin councillor Annemarie Ryan said that funding for the area of animal welfare is hugely important, and that charities that look after the welfare of animals are struggling.
"We see that a lot of the work on animal welfare falls back on charitable groups, and they’re always struggling for funding. Tipperary County Council with the control of horses and the dog wardens do a huge amount of work, but there is issues around funding all the time,” she said.
"The response is saying that they don’t consider it necessary to establish an animal welfare committee, and this motion is saying that we need one, and I agree that we need one, but while I accept the response, I think there is more that we could do at local level without it going back to national level.
"Could the council outline the steps – to the public – of how we respond to animal cruelty because you’re ringing the Department of Agriculture, you’re ringing the ISPCA and you’re ringing the guards. Last weekend I rang four different statutory organisations to deal with an issue of animal cruelty in Tipperary town,” Cllr Ryan said.
The process of dealing with issues of animal welfare is “not straightforward,” she added.
Fianna Fáil councillor Roger Kennedy said that while he supports the motion in principle, he couldn’t see what the committee would be able to achieve.
"I agree with the sentiments of the motion, but what is it going to do other than be a talking shop?” Cllr Kennedy asked.
"We’re dealing with horses and dogs that are out of control and we don’t have within the council mechanisms for bringing them into control, those responsibilities lie with other groups. It would be great to be talking about it, but we won’t be able to do anything further than what we’re doing at present,” he added.
Independent councillor Liam Browne said that while he partly agrees with what Cllr Kennedy is saying, the current system is overcomplicated.
"We have set up so many different agencies, so many different departments that have a responsibility for this part of it, for that part of it, and nobody actually takes responsibility for anything,” he said.
"If a horse is on the road, it’s the guards responsibility, if it’s on the footpath, it’s the council’s responsibility, if it’s over the fence in a field, it’s the private owner’s responsibility.
"I’m sick of talking shops too, but we all know what the problem is. We all know that if somebody doesn’t have the land to look after a horse, they shouldn’t have a horse,” Cllr Browne said.
Fine Gael councillor John Crosse said that the motion was a timely one, while his party colleague Marie Murphy added that agencies needed to be given more power around animal welfare.
Chief executive of Tipperary County Council Sinead Carr said that while she understands the frustrations raised by councillors, a committee on animal welfare won’t do what they want it to.
"I don’t think that is going to achieve what members want. I think that the environment strategic policy committee (SPC) can sit down and they can go through the issues from an animal welfare perspective that councillors want to see addressed.
"If you decide to put forward proposals that the local authorities are going to take it on, then you need to make absolutely sure it is adequately resourced from a personnel point of view, it is adequately budgeted from an operations point of view and you have a significant legal budget to take action against those who are deemed to be responsible for animal cruelty,” Ms Carr said.
In the end, the motion was referred back to the environment SPC, where animal welfare issues will now be considered at committee level rather than through a standalone body.