Like all decent people, I was disgusted and sickened at the treatment of a little pony in Clonmel on Wednesday last. To make matters worse, a young woman, with a little baby in her car was subjected to treatment that is unacceptable in any society. The young woman showed huge courage in confronting the situation and should be commended.
Before I go any further, let me make it crystal clear that I have NO political connections, I have NO expertise in animal welfare and I have NO affiliations with any groupings.
I’m just an average Joe soap, who likes animals, nothing more. I’m very active on social media, where I do a bit of blogging and I run my own website. I possess a slight ability to string a few words together at times and I produce a few articles here and there. Some of them work, some don’t, that’s the way this thing goes. Some people like it; others wish I would just shut up and disappear. There isn’t the slightest chance I’ll win a Pulitzer Prize however.
In a democracy, we entrust our elected representatives to legislate and to operate on our behalf.
Therefore, with a worsening animal welfare situation here on our doorstep, with cases of cruelty endemic and with individuals operating with total impunity, giving two fingers to society, I decided an attempt at measuring the political will in addressing the problem.
So, I devised an experiment. As Baldrick would say, “I came up with a cunning plan.” I drew up a list of all the councillors and TD’s in Tipperary, composed an email, outlining my concerns on animal welfare and pleaded for immediate action.
The next part of the plan was to forward the email to each and wait for the replies. I got the list of county councillors here [1] and a list of our sitting TD’s here [2]. There were a total of 38 councillors and 5 TD’s, who each got the exact same email. I included my own phone numbers and my full home address, should anybody wish to speak to me in private.
For fairness, I copied the email onto my social media feed as well as my own website.[3]
I wouldn’t tell anybody what my plan was, that’s what made it “cunning”. I would wait 24 hours and measure the responses.
Now, people have been very critical of the authorities in regards to animal welfare in Clonmel. There were dreadful scenes at Christmas, when horses and ponies starved to death, causing national outrage. The powers that be rushed in, promising immediate action, but still, 6 months later, people in Clonmel are witnessing cases of cruelty almost on a daily basis.
So, is there a political will to tackle the problem? Here are the results of my experiment.
Tipperary County Councillors
| E-Mails Sent | 38 |
| Replies | 7 |
| Percentage replies | 18% |
Tipperary TD’s
| Emails Sent | 5 |
| Replies | 3 (one reply was automated, so it doesn’t count) |
| Percentage replies | 60% |
One TD is remaining in close contact and is giving me regular updates on progress. Another TD has given me full details of proposed Prohibition of Sulky Racing Legislation 2018. The bill still hasn’t been heard by the Dáil. I’ve been told of death threats that were made against a TD, following his criticism of a certain section of society.
Some councillors are just as shocked and as disgusted as I am with the events of the last few days. Some of the replies have been very detailed, with offers to meet me, to talk about possible solutions, to look at the way forward and to attempt solutions. Councillors have been unanimous in their strong desire to see this problem sorted.
Other councillors are very active “on the ground” and are getting their hands dirty, doing the practical stuff.
I don’t expect people to be sitting in front of their computers every day, waiting to reply to each and every email immediately. This experiment is in no way meant to be a slight or to be judgemental on anybody. I don’t agree with the constant back biting and criticism of elected representatives either.
It’s very easy to sit at a computer keyboard and criticise, but my opinion is, if you think you can do better, put your name on a ballot paper at the next local elections and knock on a few doors. I hold huge respect for anybody that has the courage to put themselves before the electorate and allow them to judge them.
With that in mind, I would ask people to keep the negativity at bay.
Gardaí have been criticised also, with allegations of a failure to act. I am not a solicitor, but remember this, the law is there to protect “everybody” and any suspected perpetrator of a potential criminal act is “innocent until proven guilty”. Therefore, evidence has to be obtained, investigations completed, statements taken and a final decision has to be made by a Superintendent or Detective, before a file goes to the DPP. This doesn’t happen overnight and be mindful that online comments or statements can very easily jeopardise an entire case. It could be considered “prejudicial trial by media” so be careful making comments on the Garda FB page.
I’ll keep an eye on this thing for a few more days, but one thing is for certain, this is a very big problem, made bigger by some of the individuals we are dealing with.
As for the political will to address the problem, I hope it increases from 18%.
[1] https://www.tipperarycoco.ie/your-council/tipperary-county-councillors
The Unknown Bike Rider 