Mr. Pheilim Molloy:

On the issue of dogs being let run wild, we must remember that a farm is a place of work for the farmer. Under health and safety legislation, farmers are responsible for their own safety. This is a very important point to remember. With regard to resources, they are scarce on the ground and there is no doubt that the powers the dog wardens and An Garda Síochána have is a problem. If we look at the Control of Dogs Act 1986, a garda or a dog warden is prohibited from following a dog into a residential premises. This is in the legislation. This is an area that seriously needs to be addressed. There is an issue with the number of dog wardens and the powers these officers enjoy. Unless this is addressed we will not make any progress on this problem.

Unfortunately, I can relate a situation whereby I spent two hours in the company of a farmer in west Donegal one night whose stress and anxiety were displayed because he had 30 sheep killed. The dog was chased back to a premises but because of the provision in the legislation nobody could go in. The fear was that the dog would repeat the attack on a later date. This is where a big problem exists. I have seven or eight points on the Control of Dogs Act 1986, which has great weaknesses and this is only one example. If I get an opportunity at a later stage I will cover more of them. This is something that needs to be addressed.