Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 February 2018
58. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development his views on the resources for inspections of dog breeding establishments; his further views on whether legislative change is required in relation to inspections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7155/18]
View answerUnder the Dog Breeding Establishments Act, 2010, local authorities are responsible for the registration, inspection and regulation of Dog Breeding Establishments. Further, under the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for his or her own staffing and organisational arrangements, including for the inspection of dog breeding establishments.
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. 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 submissions and details on the next steps, has been published on my Department's website.
The next step 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 the resources necessary to carry out inspections 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.
More generally, the enforcement of animal welfare standards for all animals is a matter for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the Animal Health and Welfare Act. Both Departments work closely with each other to ensure a coordinated approach is taken in this area.
