Ms Bairbre Nic Aongusa:

I will ask my colleagues to come in in a minute. The first question the Senator asked was about the diversity of the various State bodies responsible for this. I agree with him that it can be confusing. That has historical origins in that dog wardens and dog control, historically, were matters for local authorities and the Department with responsibility for housing and local government. Then the community function of that Department transferred to our new Department of Rural and Community Development. We have brought that function with us. In more recent years, in the past decade or so, issues of animal welfare have come more to the fore, so there is very much a focus on animal welfare when it comes to issues relating to dogs. The discussions at the moment are with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and, I understand, the local authorities in respect of the issues of animal welfare and dog-breeding establishments. Given that Department's responsibility for animal welfare and dog-breeding establishments, it follows that regulation, inspections, standardisation and other issues would all come under the control of the overall animal welfare function. After that, the issue of dog control arises.

There is a case to be made for all issues relating to dogs to come under one authority. We have not got there yet, however. The discussions at present relate to the dog-breeding establishments element. However, we engage regularly with all the stakeholders. For example, we meet regularly with the local authority vets, as I said earlier, and the control of dogs working group we attend, which is chaired by a director of services under the auspices of the CCMA. We also have regular meetings, as required, with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. We co-operate closely. It is a three-legged stool. There is the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, our Department and the local authorities. The best approach is to have that close collaboration.

Senator Daly mentioned enforcement and how to improve it. That issue goes beyond enforcement of dog licences and could relate to many other types of licence. As to how to improve enforcement, I would turn the question on its head. It is linked somewhat to the third area the Senator raised, that is, how we can encourage more responsible dog ownership. The idea of a theory test for a dog owner is not a bad one at all. If, however, responsible dog ownership is encouraged and promoted, the first thing a responsible dog owner does is get a licence for his or her dog and get that dog microchipped. That could be part of a communications programme we have talked about.

I invite my colleagues to speak if they wish to add anything further.