The number of stray horses in Dublin has fallen by more than a third in the past year, to fewer than 1,000.
A mere 17 horses, however, have had licences taken out under new by-laws. A licence is now required to own and keep a horse in Dublin city and county, apart from the northern part of Fingal County Council's area.
A survey by The Irish Times of the four authorities found the number of strays in the Dublin Corporation area is down from 450 to an estimated 90.
Of 442 horses seized by the corporation since regulations came into force in September 1997, 282 were given new homes, 24 were destroyed and 114 were reclaimed, with the remainder placed in the authority's pound. Of those reclaimed, the vast majority were relocated outside Dublin.
South Dublin County Council estimated that the total number of strays in its area had fallen from 2,000 to 500. Since November 1997 more than 900 horses have been impounded by the local authority. Of those reclaimed, only 5 per cent returned to south Dublin.
In Fingal County Council's control area, the number of stray horses has fallen from 350 to an estimated 230, with 123 impounded since by-laws were introduced last March.
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is the only authority not to report a decline, with the number of stray horses remaining at about 100. Some 30 animals, however, have been impounded since regulations came into force last April.
In contrast, only a small number of licences to own and keep horses have been issued by the local authorities: seven by Fingal, six by Dublin Corporation, four by South Dublin and none by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown. It is understood the majority of these licensed horses have been homed in stables outside the Dublin area.
Mr Edward Dunne, chairman of the Urban, Rural and Traveller Horse Owners' Association, said the figures reflected over-stringent regulations introduced by the local authorities following the passing of the Control of Horses Act, 1996.
"They should have had far more lenient conditions in relation to stabling, because at the moment it's virtually impossible to get a licence. You have to have a 12 ft by 12 ft stable with running water and year-round heating. That's more than some people have in their own homes. Even riding schools and racehorse stables couldn't comply with the conditions."
Mr Philip Murphy, senior administrative officer with the South Dublin community and parks unit, admitted the take-up of licences was disappointing. "There are a lot of horses out there which should have licences. It's something we will have to address," he said.
A spokeswoman for Dublin Corporation also said it was planning to tackle the issue in an attempt to allow responsible horseowners to keep animals in the area.
"In the first phase we tried to tackle the immediate problem of straying horses which were causing a danger to the public, but this year we are concentrating on the second phase, which is identifying people in the city area and establishing the conditions in which they can keep horses."
Rejecting any easing of the regulations, both local authorities have instead sought to guarantee ownership rights through the development of local equine centres.
Construction is due to begin shortly on a £2.2 million centre in Cherry Orchard, Ballyfermot, an area from which 133 horses were seized by the corporation. The local authority has approved 11.5 acres of land for the project with the Government providing £1.5 million in funding.
A second project in Fettercairn, south Dublin, received the goahead last month with the approval of £105,000 in funding from the Department of Agriculture. Costing almost £300,000 and cofunded by the local drugs task force and the RDS, the centre is due to be completed this autumn.
The Department has also approved £4,000 in funding for a feasibility study for an equine centre in Quarryvale, also in south Dublin.
