Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 February 2018
51. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if his Department will liaise with local authorities and An Garda Síochána to ensure that the living conditions of dogs and pups on puppy farms is within the regulations and to enforce sanction or close down farms that are operating outside of the terms of their licence. [8723/18]
View answer67. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when his Department will publish the final report on the review of dog breeding establishment guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8724/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 67 together.
Under the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010, local authorities are responsible for the registration, inspection and regulation of dog breeding establishments within their functional areas. Furthermore, the enforcement of welfare standards regarding all animals, including dogs, is a matter for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.
My Department has overall policy responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. Under the Act, Guidelines are in place for Dog Breeding Establishments and these are currently being revised by my Department. A draft was published as part of a public consultation process which ended in February 2017. The Department has completed its review of the submissions received and a Consultation Summary report, which provides a summary of the submissions made and details on the next steps in the process, has been published on my Department's website at http://drcd.gov.ie/dog-control/.
The next step in this process will be to produce revised Dog Breeding Establishment Guidelines, taking account of the submissions received. I expect to have these ready for my approval in Q2 of this year. Amendments to the relevant legislation, if necessary, will be progressed subsequently.
While the focus is currently on developing revised Guidelines, broader issues relating to enforcement of regulations and licence conditions were also raised in the course of the public consultation. I have asked my officials to consider whether further measures are required in these areas.
