Ms Becky Bristow:

The Senator is right. It is about responsible dog ownership. The Senator may have seen local authorities around the country running much stronger campaigns about picking up after dogs. Dogs Trust has had a “scoop the poop” campaign this week about that. However, there has to be an imposition of fines to make any difference. A very forward-thinking local authority in Leitrim is currently running a test run of genetically testing the litter in order to trace back to the dog and, therefore, dog owner who left it behind. Of course, the dog cannot pick it up. There are possibilities in the future. We have local authorities in Ireland which are being imaginative and innovative in finding ways to do this. However, at the present time, it is about trying to get people to be more responsible. It is about the public education campaigns on how it is not only disgusting, but it is a very serious hygiene issue for people and for children. We have all heard the ad campaigns about people who are blind or who are in wheelchairs. Can one imagine how disgusting that must be for them? They do not have the possibility to avoid it. We are heavily involved in campaigning on responsible dog ownership. However, there are other possibilities ahead. They would tie into insuring and fining, and making sure that dogs are microchipped. We could, at the point of microchipping, have a DNA sample to make the dog traceable in future. There are options to consider to join up all of this, so that Ireland becomes a dog-friendly place, and so that this does not cause difficulties for the humans in the community.