Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise if I ask something that has been covered. We have been coming in and out to vote in the Dáil

It is fair to say that the issue of dog welfare and dog control probably is not something the majority of people wake up thinking about every morning. It is not a high-profile issue per se. Because of that, it is frustrating when we are dealing with it. For example, tonight we are dealing with two separate Departments and another Department is also involved in the issue. Without being flippant about it, this is not big enough to cross three different Departments. The first thing we need to do is streamline. Of course, there are things only local authorities can do effectively. In terms of legislation and the different penalties that are in place and all of that, however, it could, and should, be streamlined within one Department. I have seen media reports and heard suggestions that there is an ask for the dog control unit in the Department of Rural and Community Development to be moved to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Can the officials give me a sense as to whether they agree there is a problem here?