Ms Becky Bristow:

I thank the Deputy. I would love to speak as if we had a blank page but I am going to operate on what we do have. The cold, hard reality is that although there are multiple stakeholders in this, it must start with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

It has to start with taking responsibility and creating the ability to verify those details. Even if we just started with the verification of microchips, that would be a big step forward. Where the Department of Rural and Community Development comes in is in having that one list of licensed DBEs. That would be its key input. A critical issue for both Departments is to also request a tax registration number for the DBE licence, for getting on to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's list. All of this will allow traceability for the Revenue Commissioners, which can only be a good thing from the Government's perspective.

The charities are all aligned on this issue. I have been getting comments all day from the DPSCA, the ISPCA, Blue Cross and MADRA. We are fully in agreement that this is the game-changing measure that is needed and we will all row in behind it. One of the big things the charitable sector can do is educate the public. Some 52,000 people signed a petition asking for this legislation to be enforced. The public want it to happen and we can help support charities in educating the wider public about what responsible dog ownership is and how to acquire a dog responsibly. Verifying the online sale information is the critical action that is needed right now and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has to take responsibility for that. There is literally no other way. For a year, all the various stakeholders have been talking about this, pointing out different issues, and saying it should come under another Department or the different platforms. The reality is that the owners of the legislation have to take the next step. I know they are interested. I ask the committee to empower and fund them and hold them responsible for doing this.