2026-06-10

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to prohibit sulky-racing where no lawful permission has been granted. I am pleased to bring this legislation before the House once again. Its purpose is straightforward and urgently needed. The Bill prohibits sulky racing on public roads unless explicit permission has been granted and lawful permission has been there for that. As outlined in the briefing notes, sulky racing is an extremely dangerous activity. The practice places the public, young passengers and the horses themselves in grave danger. The Bill is driven by the growing number of serious incidents occurring across the country and particularly in my own county, Tipperary. In recent months, gardaí were called to the outskirts of Clonmel after a young trotting horse collapsed during an early-morning sulky run. There was another incident where the horse broke from its carriage and ran directly into oncoming traffic. A motorist narrowly avoided a multi-vehicle collision near Thurles when a group of sulkies took over both lanes of the N62 without warning. These events are becoming disturbingly frequent. The Clonmel incident happened outside a busy shop and a dance studio. There are often large numbers of youths and parents going in and out to the shop and the dance studio. If the horse had ploughed into them, it would have been horrific. It hit two cars. The briefing notes describe how children as young as ten hitch horses or ponies to lightweight carts and race them along busy regional, national and primary roads. The reality we are dealing with is unregulated, uninsured, high-speed racing on public roads, often alongside moving traffic. It is reckless, unsafe and horribly cruel to the horses. In Tipperary we have seen horses driven to exhaustion, abandoned on roadsides and, in some cases, left to die where they fall. Images from the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, ISPCA, show the horrific injuries. I compliment the organisation and all the different horse and dog refuges that try to do so much in this case. These animals can suffer torn ligaments, broken bones and wounds inflicted by makeshift tack. This is not sport; this is avoidable cruelty. Let me be clear: I am not anti-sport and I am not opposed to traditional equine culture. Tipperary is rightly proud of its world-class horse racing heritage but what is happening on our roads is not legitimate equine activity. It is unlicensed, unlawful and dangerous. It endangers motorists, pedestrians, young people involved and the animals themselves. At present the law is a patchwork of inconsistent local authority by-laws. Counties such as Tipperary, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford all have different by-laws, which leads to a total lack of consistency in approach. The Bill seeks to correct this by establishing a national united framework. It grants local authorities the powers they need to enforce the law and it provides for meaningful penalties, including fines of up to €5,000 and, in more serious cases, imprisonment. The Bill does not interfere with off-road sulky racing - something that takes place in many countries and is very lucrative – on sand-based paths organised by legitimate equine sports organisations. It addresses growing dangerous practices of unlicenced, unlawful sulky racing on public roads, a practice that has caused serious injury and will continue to do so unless we act. I do not claim the Bill is perfect but I hope that all sides of the House will support it. The issue straddle the Departments of justice, agriculture and local government. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, has been making noises that he would support it. I have introduced the legislation twice and it was not supported. I hope we will come together, take this legislation, amend it, if necessary, but do something now. We should not do like we did with the scramblers and end up with a law in the name of some person who was killed. Please act for the sake of ending the cruelty to the animals and for the safety of the public. I commend the Bill to the House.

Is the Bill opposed?

No.

Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."