Mr. Tomás Bourke:

Senator Collins is correct - the point was also made earlier - that there will never be enough dog wardens to police all the dogs. This is why, in the first instance, the level of sanction for non-compliance must be the deterrent so that people are acutely aware of the impact or repercussions if they are non-compliant.

There are other opportunities. It is compulsory for vets to use the national veterinary prescription system, NVPS, when prescribing products for farm animals. It will cover virtually all products and treatments animals get in the next few months - it currently covers antibiotics - but pets are outside its remit. A lot of dog owners are prepared to invest a significant amount of money in the health and welfare of their animals, yet the vets prescribing for those animals are not compelled to use the NVPS. We need a situation wherein if dogs are presented to a veterinary practitioner, their treatment must be recorded on the NVPS. This would require that the dogs be microchipped, which would require them to be on the database and the responsible person to be identified. That does not necessitate an additional layer of bureaucracy at all.

If I want to become a farmer, I have to fill out a 14-page document and submit it to the Department of agriculture. I will be assessed for suitability to own the farm animals. However, anyone can go and fill his or her car boot with dogs, open the boot and let them out to run amok between the animals whose health and welfare I am legally responsible for. It is not credible that we have to jump through so many hoops as farmers to be given permission to own these animals, yet anyone can decide to drive out into the countryside and open up a boot of animals for which they have not been assessed as being suitable owners. They are not meeting the legal obligations they have in the first place and are creating havoc. There has to be an assessment of suitability to own a dog in the first instance. It would not be easy to police, but if sanction was levelled for being found with a dog without the licence that had to be given to own the dog in the first place, it may help with the level of compliance.