The Department of Agriculture is discussing tighter equine controls with passport-issuing agencies, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney told the Dáil.

He said this would enhance the controls on passports at all stages of the process, including veterinary certification, quality of the paper used and security features. A regulation currently provided that, in the case of horses qualifying for registration with a breed society, the passport must be issued by the relevant society.

“At present, nine passport-issuing organisations are approved to issue passports in Ireland, although some have been suspended temporarily,” Mr Coveney added.

The Minister was replying to Fine Gael TD Derek Keating, who asked if every horse in the State would be required to be chipped and to hold a passport irrespective of travel, transportation, sale or movement, as with canine registration.

Mr Keating said a major problem had arisen in Clondalkin and Lucan in his Dublin Mid-West constituency, and in other urban communities, relating to wild horses.

“I have had the sad experience of witnessing the removal of dead horses on a number of occasions,” he added. “It is a problem that is not going away.’’

Mr Keating said that while many groups in his area had taken an interest in the issue, because of their special love of horses, it was ultimately left to the local authorities to deal with it. “It is a costly and time-consuming exercise and requires ongoing security when horses need to be impounded and so on.”

Mr Coveney said he had announced in March he would like to see the establishment of a single organisation issuing passports.