Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely agree there is nothing more disgusting that dog fouling. There are irresponsible dog owners who allow that to happen. I agree the fines should be greater. It is a matter for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Under the litter Act, that Department has responsibility but I have no problem with highlighting the issue in terms of my Department. We are providing €500,000 for a comprehensive media campaign on responsible dog ownership because we have heard the stories about what has happened and situations where people have been attacked. A lot of that comes down to the owner of the dog who is not keeping it under control. We want a media campaign on the issue. We are going to have a targeted neutering campaign and I am also going to set up a stakeholder group. That is going to bring in all the stakeholders and there are many diverse views on dogs, as we know. We are setting that up and I have identified a chairperson. I am going to move that on as quickly as I can and set up that group, so it can come forward with suggestions. We must get all the players into the room because there is no one solution to the issues of dogs and dog control. We are coming into the lambing season and dogs that are allowed to run around are dangerous.

We are also going to develop and provide standardised training for dog wardens. The county councils and local authorities have a role here because they have responsibility for the dog wardens. I know that is not an easy job. It is about how we can support them better in their jobs. A number of measures are taking place. I am working with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine because he also has responsibility in this area. A couple of Departments are involved. The stakeholder group will bring everybody into the one room and will have a good chairperson. It can come forward with suggestions. Everybody will have problems but we also need solutions. There is a big focus on the issue, and rightly so.