Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail)

I thank Louise O'Tuama, Brenda Fitzpatrick and Lisa O'Connor for coming in. It has been a very informative meeting. The witnesses do an awful lot of work voluntarily. It is great to see it and I commend them on that. It is fair to say that dog theft probably spiked around the time of Covid when many other criminal opportunities were closed down. Criminals diverted their interest and enthusiasm into this sector. This probably explains why dog theft has abated more recently, although the threat has not abated. There are other opportunities out there.

There are two types of dog ownership: responsible and irresponsible. In the agriculture committee of the last Dáil, we dealt with many issues caused by irresponsible dog owners such as attacks on sheep, abandoned dogs, and dogs being malnourished and not looked after. In the main we are looking here at responsible dog owners, who love their dogs and get very attached to them.

I agree there is a need for a huge awareness campaign. I agree we need a national database of dog ownership. For years in the agriculture world we have been trying to do that for horses and it has not worked. It is not easy but it is still probably the only way we are going to address it.

Did the witnesses look at the ports? They can answer this when I have finished. Obviously the dogs are going out through the ports. They are probably bringing them alive to the boats. Perhaps the animal is sedated to get it out. What safeguards do the ports have in place? This is something we should be doing as well.

Awareness is very important, as is the database. We probably need to tighten up what we do at the ports. I am not convinced about bringing in legislation, as was done in the UK. There are sufficient financial charges there. I am coming at this from a rural Ireland perspective. If something happens outside in the yard, you leave it there. It is very hard to differentiate between the pet dog and the horses and cattle. We would more or less see them as the same, but that does not take away or detract from the pain and suffering that occurs when a dog is stolen.

The witnesses have done huge work and given us an insight into many issues I did not know about. It is a major problem. Their next port of call is probably the agriculture committee, or a meeting with Department of agriculture officials. Certainly we will help in any way we can. The witnesses have done a huge body of work and have shone an important light on this. I hope this committee can help with any further engagement with the agriculture committee - my colleague Senator Brady is on that committee - or with a meeting with departmental officials. I am very impressed with the work the witnesses have done. I know that they have done a lot and that they have a life outside of this. If they have discussions with representatives of the ports, I would be interested to hear about it.