Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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I apologise to Senator McGreehan. I thank Ms Creedon for her informative opening statement. One of the key reasons I requested that we have a session on dog bites, dangerous dogs, sheep-worrying and related issues is that I want us to react with an evidence-based approach to this. We are all in agreement that we want these dog attacks to end if we can stop them, but there have been a lot of knee-jerk reactions in the media calling for more dogs to be added to the dangerous breeds list and for certain breeds to be banned. As Ms Creedon said, crossbreeds can be hard to identify.

I have a couple of questions. In her opening statement she said that the dog does not behave aggressively because of its breed but, instead, because it is a product of its environment. Does that include the environment into which the dog was born? One of my concerns is the lack of socialisation we see, the lack of handling and the stress dogs are under when they are industrially bred. Does that play into the behavioural characteristics we then see coming out? Even the pounds into which some rescue dogs that have been surrendered talk about resource-guarding and so on. Does that affect the behaviour of a dog?

My next question is about the dog bite prevention advisory council, which I think is what Ms Creedon called it, which is an interesting idea. As she said, data are key to this. Are other jurisdictions doing this? There is a reference in Ms Creedon's opening statement to Chicago, but is this sort of model in existence anywhere else?

My last question is on the idea responsible ownership. When pounds and shelters are trying to re-home animals, there are often comments on their websites from people saying it is so hard to get a dog from the pound, the staff make it very difficult or they will not allow dogs into certain houses. In Ms Creedon's experience, is that a case of the shelters and the rescues carrying out due diligence in respect of dog ownership and ensuring that the dog goes to an appropriate family or home with a secure garden? Is that something that, as she said, should be done across the board as opposed to just by the rescue shelters?