Mr. Paul Geraghty:

I thank the Senator for the questions. There is considerable cross-Border co-operation between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and our counterparts in Northern Ireland. We would have regular scheduled formal meetings where we discuss a range of issues, including animal welfare. There is also a considerable informal co-operation where we regularly contact each other when issues arise. Certainly, we have fairly close co-operation on our side with our counterparts in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.

With regard to the microchipping regulations, the enforcement can be done by any officer authorised under the Act such as representatives from the Department, the gardaí, members of the local authority veterinary service in whichever county it is or officers of the ISPCA or the DSPCA. Our understanding is that very few prosecutions have been taken. It is usually in the context of other larger welfare issues. There may have been other offences and that was one of them. There is not centralised reporting of enforcement issues for that because they can be taken by the local authorities.

I am not sure whether I can speak to the licensing issue because it does not come under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I have my own experience, of course, of dog licensing with my own dog. However, I would not like to make a reply on that because it is not our area.