Ms Nicole Matthews:

Before we move on, the situation of rescue dogs that are overseas because our pounds cannot handle the influx must be acknowledged. A large number of dogs have been rehomed in Italy, the UK and so on. Cara Rescue Dogs, PAWS and the group that the girls are with, Homes for Unwanted Greyhounds, HUG, have set up a two-way system with other countries where these dogs are viewed as family pets and people are willing to open up their homes once the rescue dogs have been personality traited, had their temperaments, drive and instinct to chase tested and after the best circumstances in which to rehome each dog have been determined.

In this context, we must examine the overbreeding in Ireland. We should not have to look to outside our country to clean up our mess because the overspill is too large to be handled. If the system is overloaded, breeding must be cut back. That must be communicated by the rescue organisations and across the board within the greyhound industry. Given that there is an overspill, we cannot keep the issue in a bubble anymore.