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Overview
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Agenda
18. Motion on Horse Welfare & Animal Welfare Unit
19. Emergency Motion – Halloween Violence
1. Lord Mayor's Business
2. Standing Order Questions
3. Correspondence from Local Authorities
4. Confirmation of Meeting Minutes
5. Committee Vacancies and Nominations
6. 10-Unit Housing at Finglas
6. 123-Unit Housing at Donore Avenue
6. 84-Unit Housing at Darndale Spine Site
6. Cherry Orchard Park Regeneration
7. Grafton Street Planning Control Scheme
8. Right of Way Extinguishment Ballymun
9. Fee Simple Disposal – Baldoyle
9. Fee Simple Disposal – Ground Rents
10. Lease of Former Crèche Clonsilla
10. Merrion Square Tea Rooms Lease
11. Housing Supply Monthly Update
12. Audit Committee – 2025 Financial Statement
13. Monthly Local Fund Statement
14. Monthly Management Report
15. Area Committee Minutes – September
16. Planning SPC Minutes – June
17. Protocol Committee Minutes – September
18. Motions on Notice
19. Emergency Motions

Meeting 02/11/2026

Notifications MCP

Subjects

00:00:00/ —

Administration

Motions on Notice

Agenda #18November 2, 202619 speakers · 26 minutes

26′

minutes

Green Party8′

Fianna Fáil3′

Fine Gael2′

Sinn Féin2′

Social Democrats1′

Right to Change1′

People Before Profit1′

Summary

AI-generated text

Motions submitted on notice by elected members will be considered by the council. These are formal proposals tabled in advance for debate and decision.

Motions on Notice are a standing part of Dublin City Council's monthly meeting. They are written proposals that councillors submit in advance, and the council's Standing Orders set the rules for them. The current Standing Orders were agreed on 9 June 2025. They cover how motions are submitted and considered, and they say Standing Order 36 applies when considering motions on notice. Under the earlier 2023 rules, a motion to rescind or amend a council resolution can only be made on notice. The same rules also guard against duplication, so a similar motion can't be tabled at both the full council and a committee.

In practice, motions are numbered and listed with their submission dates. Many are typically deferred and later replaced, so the backlog can be long. Items on recent agendas include a call to audit electric vehicle charging facilities in the city. Others ask the Chief Executive to implement the Part 8 planning process for the Martin Savage Park development. Another motion notes the conversion of homes into short-term lets and its effect on housing availability and affordability. The 5 October 2026 agenda still included motions submitted in 2025, which shows how long some wait to be heard.

Motions matter because they are the main way individual councillors put local issues on the formal record. Most are calls on the Chief Executive to act or report back. They are not binding decisions in themselves. The Chief Executive and officials carry out the council's decisions, so a motion that passes mainly applies political pressure. The agendas are published on the council's meetings website, which is a useful way to follow what is being raised.

Statements(20)

AI-generated text

CM

Carolyn MooreGreen Party-Comhaontas Glas

The motion was prompted by an incident in Brickfields Park on Saturday 17 October, around 6 PM, where a group of children aged 11–15 were visibly mistreating a horse, riding it bareback, beating it, while it had an open wound on its hind legs. Witnesses who tried to intervene were threatened, the Gardaí did not respond, and the council's Animal Welfare Unit doesn't operate after 3 PM on weekends and its voicemail provides no emergency contact information. The motion calls for better resourcing and a visible awareness campaign around horse welfare, owner responsibilities, and penalties, as well as a clearly outlined protocol for horse rescue situations. In her closing remarks, Ms. Moore noted she had not been able to speak to anyone in the Animal Welfare Unit in two weeks of trying and called for a concrete timeline so the motion does not simply go out into the ether, stressing that organisations like My Lovely Horse should not be left mopping up the mess of the city's animal welfare crisis.

DD

Daithí DoolanSinn Féin

As a local councillor in the area, Mr. Doolan was also contacted by residents who were deeply traumatised and didn't know who to speak to or contact to get the issue resolved. The Gardaí said they couldn't do anything, and the horse was mistreated for over a day and a half. The council needs to send a message of zero tolerance towards cruelty to animals and issue a simple A to Z guide for the public on what to do when encountering a cruelly treated horse.

RC

Ray CunninghamGreen Party-Comhaontas Glas

Stepping back from the specific incident, for many young people in the city, the connection with horses and caring for a living creature can be a very positive thing. The council should support responsible horse owners and give them the help they need, while also setting out clear standards that owners must live up to. At the same time, the council must be prepared to take horses away from people who aren't looking after them.

CP

As a member of the Animal Welfare Committee, Mr. Perry confirmed that this is a regular occurrence in a number of areas and clarification on procedure and response is needed. The unit now appears fully staffed, but the current operating hours are not acceptable given the staffing levels, and the committee has asked for a report on how to increase those hours. The committee has also requested more detailed reporting to ensure value for money and real impact. Without voluntary organisations like My Lovely Horse Rescue, the city would be lost.

DH

Deirdre HeneyFianna Fáil

As chair of the Animal Welfare Committee, Ms. Heney stated that the Animal Welfare Unit is not proactively inspecting horses for licences or inspecting premises — a basic piece of work the unit needs to carry out. Staff need to be proactively enforcing horse licensing by knocking on doors, because doing so would reveal an awful lot of cruelty to animals, specifically horses. The Animal Welfare Oversight Committee and Unit were set up to send a message that Dublin City Council will not stand for abuse of animals, yet the abuse continues, and she is absolutely not happy with what's happening in relation to animals in the city.

MF

Mr. Flynn drew on the precedent of the Smithfield horse market, which was passed from department to department until he discovered it fell under casual trading regulations, which ended the fair where massive cruelty was taking place. Young people can ride horses around the city centre without any regard, and people trade with horse and cart without a casual trading licence. This is not just a Dublin issue — it is happening all over Limerick, Cork, Kerry, and elsewhere. Ireland once had its coinage revere animals, and the country needs to get back to that pride and stop those causing harm.

CO

Colm O'RourkeFine Gael

On behalf of the Fine Gael group, Mr. O'Rourke supported the motion, noting that more resources definitely need to be in place. In many cases of irresponsible horse ownership, people know who is responsible, and there needs to be more knocking on doors, but there aren't enough resources. An awareness campaign on emergency numbers is really important because people often don't know how to report animal welfare concerns. He also raised the distinct but related issue of horse manure being dumped around the city, particularly in Cabra, Glasnevin, Drumcondra, and Phibsboro.

MS

Malachy Steenson

Mr. Steenson framed the issue as another case — like dogs, scramblers, and scooters — where plenty of legislation exists but is never implemented. The mistreatment of horses and animals is a symptom of the total breakdown in society, driven by government policies that have broken down families and communities, leaving young people disconnected from their areas and without responsibility. It will be horses today, dogs tomorrow, something else next week — and the political and management class in the country have created that problem.

RM

Ray McAdamFine Gael

Representing the north inner city and Stoneybatter Dublin 7 area, Mr. McAdam noted that there are a number of areas where horses are being stabled with serious welfare issues and clear connections to criminality. He argued for greater coordination with vets and inspectors from the Department of Agriculture. Echoing Mr. Flynn's comments about Smithfield, this issue requires not only awareness but intensive inspection — an intensive inspection programme of where horses are being stored and clearly not cared for.

KC

Keith ConnollyFianna Fáil

Mr. Connolly supported the motion, emphasising that clarity on how to respond to these situations is really important for guiding appropriate responses. He commended the residents who tried to intervene and noted that children were involved in this case and are clearly not getting the support they need to treat animals with respect. The issue isn't just about animal welfare — there are multiple issues at play, and the Gardaí need to be resourced enough to deal with these situations swiftly.

VJ

Vincent Jackson

Mr. Jackson acknowledged the work of the Animal Welfare Committee, noting that animals can't speak up for themselves and feel pain just like humans. He called for the Animal Welfare Unit to produce an annual or biannual report detailing what effective measures they have taken to improve animal welfare in the city.

DC

Donna CooneyGreen Party-Comhaontas Glas

Ms. Cooney supported the motion and argued that there needs to be coverage seven days a week on animal welfare issues, drawing a parallel with getting parks wardens onto North Bull Island seven days a week. She also called for uniformity in the Garda response, with a designated person or team responsible for animal welfare that people can contact directly, rather than calling a local station where the issue may or may not be taken seriously.

PD

Pat DunneRight to Change

As a local councillor in the Drimnagh area, Mr. Dunne confirmed that people on the ground felt there had been no response by anybody in authority to save the horse. Noting the discussion about insufficient resources, he pointed out that the horse industry in Ireland is worth between 2.5 and 3 billion euros and called for a levy on that industry to ensure people at the lower end of the scale are given the facilities to properly look after horses.

KS

Karl StanleySocial Democrats

Mr. Stanley supported the motion, noting that Dublin City has challenges around animal welfare in general — it's not just horses. Dublin is the puppy farming capital of the world, and as an agricultural nation, there is a utilitarian attitude towards animals, treating them as possessions. He would love to see Dublin City Council become much more proactive about the management of animal welfare.

EO

Ellen O'DohertySocial Democrats

The animal welfare situation is deeply disgusting and upsetting, particularly in the north inner city. Fully supports the motion but emphasizes the need for continued engagement and regular updates, expressing concern that motions often pass unanimously but then disappear «out into the ether» without follow-through. Wants this issue to come back on a regular basis with updates.

KK

Kourtney KennySinn Féin

As a member of the Animal Welfare Committee, the priority should be a major education piece because lasting change comes through education and understanding. The city also needs to consider how it supports people who are doing it correctly. There is a stark contrast in funding priorities: €20.4 million is allocated to greyhound racing, yet far less goes toward protecting animals and educating owners. Imagine the effect if equivalent money were allocated to animal protection and education.

HN

Hazel de NortúinPeople Before Profit

In Cherry Orchard, a group called Horse Power was doing exactly what councillors are calling for — working with young people who owned horses, providing education, linking them with services. Dublin City Council supported the process, but when it came to sustainable delivery, the programme was dropped dead. DCC's inaction is itself a form of action: the less they engage, the less effective they become. However, the Horse Power example shows there is a model for how it can be done.

Unknown Speaker 5

Supports the motion. A major concern is that when cruelty to a horse is reported, Dublin City Council very often pays for the animal to be put down rather than cared for or rescued, and a lot of money is paid for that service. The work of organisations like My Lovely Horse Rescue is extremely important, and the council needs to work with these groups to ensure the first point of call isn't to put the animal down but to rescue it.

AS

Responding to concerns about animals being put down, the Animal Welfare Committee chaired by Mr. Heney and Mr. Perry has worked hard to ensure that is not the case, and the committee receives numbers and rationale for any such decision, which is treated as a last resort. Fully supports the motion and considers it vital, especially given Dublin's status as a tourist city. The DCC and horse rescue organisations are doing their best with minimal funding, and increased funding needs to come from government.

Unknown Speaker 10

The Animal Welfare Unit is relatively new but now has a number of years of operational experience. A review of the Animal Welfare Unit will commence shortly, incorporating the operational issues raised in the motion. Additional information on reporting animal welfare incidents will be added to the council website, which can be done quickly. The wider education and awareness piece will be developed in collaboration with the Animal Welfare Committee. The review will begin within the next month and take several months, while awareness campaigns will be discussed at the next committee meeting.

The discussion

26′

minutes

Green Party8′

Fianna Fáil3′

Fine Gael2′

Sinn Féin2′

Social Democrats1′

Right to Change1′

People Before Profit1′

19 speakers · 7 parties

Decision

No decision from Diavgeia has been linked to this subject yet.