Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn has raised significant concerns regarding the State’s ability to monitor and respond effectively to animal cruelty offences, following new information received from the Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan.

The Cork North Central TD said the data provided reveals a clear gap in how these offences have been tracked and understood at national level.

According to Deputy O’ Flynn, “The State only introduced a specific classification for animal cruelty incidents on the Garda PULSE system in 2024. That means, prior to that, there was no consistent or standardised way of recording these offences nationally. This raises a fundamental question. How can any government assess the scale of a problem if it has not been properly measured?”