Mr. Eoin Ryan:

The Senator's point about the need for research is a good one. It is important for policy to be informed by evidence and research to provide a wider context. I referred to it briefly in my opening statement. The Department does fund a considerable amount of research into animal welfare. We funded the post of professor of animal welfare in UCD and a number of specific research projects on animal welfare in different sectors, including the charity dog shelter sector. I am not aware of any specific research on risk factors for re-homing dogs, which is exactly the sort of thing that would be useful. Now we have more support for animal welfare research and more animal welfare researchers, I am hopeful this is the sort of thing we can do better on. We have the research funds and this professor is working on it so it would be useful.

The working group will consider responsible dog ownership but this is already something under consideration. It is not a new idea. I referred earlier to our new advisory council on companion animal welfare. It meets regularly and is composed of a number of stakeholders from across that sector. This is one of the things it is considering. The idea concerns the messages we should convey and how we can convey them effectively. The advisory council will be advising the Minister on this. Many of the key players are involved in that. There is no simple answer but involves a number of initiatives. The dog control working group will take a lot of those messages from the advisory council on companion animal welfare on board because many of the same experts are involved.