Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

P00049/24 on “Reform Irish Laws on Pet Theft” is from Ms Lisa O'Connor. It states:

On the 21st of July 2020 James Browne TD made a statement on his Facebook page where it was stated his office was preparing legislation to make it a more serious offence to steal a companion pet. Nearly 4 years later there has been no movement on this. In the words of Deputy James Browne 21st July 2020 - “Currently the theft of a pet is treated by the law as the very same as stealing a deck chair. Yet, the theft of a pet can have a devastating effect on its owners and their family. This should be reflected in the sanction given out for such a theft. Where the theft is of therapy or support dog there should be an even greater sanction.”

Dogs and other companion pets are still being stolen daily in Ireland. The theft of a pet needs its own classification and adequate punishment. Pet theft is a LOW RISK/ HIGH REWARD CRIME. I’m really concerned to the fact that the Junior Minister James Browne Stated in 2020 that his office was preparing legislation and now nothing.

My group on Facebook is Missing/Stolen Animals Ireland with just over 13,000 concerned members. Every day I share dogs that have been stolen around Ireland. Families left with little or no where to turn and little or no accountability for these criminal acts against their much-loved family members. I’ve also attached various statements made by Junior Minister James Browne in 2020. Dog theft may have reduced since 2020 but it’s still happening and unfortunately in the past couple of weeks it seems to be on the rise again. Just last week a female dog was lifted out of her garden in Co. Kildare and thrown into a jeep. It was caught on CCTV and through the heat of sharing on social media, the dog was dumped miles from home the next day. She was found by a passer-by and reunited with her family. The thieves were never caught and will probably do this again. So many families have been left heartbroken, children lost without the best friend, elderly left without their companions who give them someone to talk to during the day, get them out of the house or even a reason to get up each day. Action taken to resolve issue of concern before submitting the petition: Numerous email correspondences with the Department of Justice and James Browne’s office with no clear answers.

The secretariat wrote to the Department of Justice seeking a response advising of its views within 14 days and received a response from it on 24 June 2024. The committee recommends that we publish the response from the Department of Justice and that the correspondence from the Department of Justice be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days. Have members any views on that or is that agreed?