Ms Deirdre Kelly:

Yes. As a point of information, we are going to be doing some work supporting Leitrim County Council next year in providing some training to dog wardens, which will include elements of engaging with schools, etc., and building the capacity of children around the dog side of things. An element of the dog warden training will include that with the idea being then that the dog wardens have the capacity to go into schools and talk to children about dogs. Our awareness campaign will include an element of - targeting is probably the wrong word - focusing on children and young people as well.

That will form part of the awareness campaign. We are very aware of the fact that young people are probably the primary reason for getting a dog in the first place, particularly in the lead-up to Christmas. Given their rationale and reasoning for getting a dog, any awareness campaign should also be targeted at them. Some will be a little too young, but older children and teenagers should be made aware of the responsibility of dog ownership just as much as their parents are.