The Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA)

Lobbying Organisation The Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Date published 03 Sep, 2026

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area Agriculture

Period 1 May. 2026 to 31 Aug. 2026

Specific Details The NSPCA wrote a letter to the Minister for Agriculture regarding sulky horse activity on public roads, highlighting concerns and suggesting recommendations around potential legislation and enforcement

Intended results To highlight concerns around sulky horse activity on public roads and to secure a meeting with Minister for Agriculture. The introduction of a legal prohibition on sulky horse activity on public roads

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Conor Dowling & Claire Owens

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? Yes

What is the directive you gave to the grassroots campaigners? The NSPCA launched a petition calling for the introduction of a legal prohibition on sulky horse activity on public roads and issued a social media and email campaign encouraging supporters to sign the petition

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Letter (1)

The NSPCA wrote a letter to the Minister for Agriculture regarding sulky horse activity on public roads, suggesting recommendations around potential legislation and enforcement

Email (2-5)

The NSPCA sent emails to subscribers encouraging them to sign the NSPCA petition calling for the introduction of a legal prohibition on sulky horse activity on public roads

Social Media (2-5)

The NSPCA posted on social media encouraging supporters to sign the NSPCA petition calling for the introduction of a legal prohibition on sulky horse activity on public roads

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Martin Heydon Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)