Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

While I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill, it is extraordinary that Dáil Éireann should sit on a Friday to deal with such legislation when the Government cannot provide time to discuss serious health issues, the 40% drop in farm income, the extraordinary economic problems that many mortgage holders are experiencing and, especially, the cutbacks in support for those who are elderly or disabled. Only last Wednesday, the Taoiseach promised we would be given advice on Thursday morning as to how people with cystic fibrosis would be dealt with. I understand some time will be provided for this matter next week but no time could be found for the Dáil to deal with any of the other issues to which I referred. For the Green Party, the life of a deer or the position of dogs is clearly much more serious than the real problems of real people.

As a farmer, I am totally committed to the proper treatment of animals of all kinds. If there was abuse in dog breeding farms, as I know there was, I accept that reasonable regulations have to be implemented. However, I assure the Minister that those who own and look after greyhounds and beagles look after their dogs like members of their families. It is impossible to understand the reason these categories of dog were included in the Bill. It is important for greyhound breeders that their dogs are properly looked after in order that they will perform on the greyhound track. Otherwise, there would not be any point in remaining in business. The same position applies as regards beagles. Many of my neighbours have beagles and look after them extremely well. I welcome the proposed change to allow those with five breeding bitches or fewer to be exempt from the Act. A farmer who has bitches incapable of breeding will also be exempt, provided they are sterilised. I telephoned a friend who is involved in this business to ask him what would be the cost of sterilisation. He indicated it would be approximately €100 as he had paid £75 north of the Border for the procedure. It should be noted, however, that a sterilised bitch is no longer suitable for hunting or other purposes as it grows fat and loses the will to hunt. This issue needs to be examined more carefully.

The County Monaghan regional game council has suggested that a different definition of a dog breeding establishment be included in the Bill to provide that the premises or any number of premises owned by the same proprietor where five or more clutches of pups are born in a calendar year should be licensed. In other words, where fewer than five clutches of pups are born in a given year, the premises would not be a dog breeding establishment for the purposes of the Bill.

One of my neighbours has 20 bitches, which between them only had one litter last year. Although he does not use the dogs for breeding purposes, he will have an enormous burden placed on him by the legislation. The individual in question, who lost his job, lives across the Border at the moment although his home is on the southern side of the Border. He receives £69 per week. For him to pay €400 and all the other expenses would be a major issue. The Minister should try to keep those sorts of people in mind. The reality is that there is an increase in suicides in rural areas at present and we do not want any more.

However, my concerns and those of Fine Gael are that the Green Party is committed to making things as difficult as possible for the way of rural life, including pursuits such as greyhound racing, fox hunting and beagle hunting and the Minister has certainly done nothing in this Bill to change this view. The Minister has transferred the greyhound issue to his colleague the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Smith, and requires him to have a similar Act in place by 1 January 2011, stating that if this is not done the Minister, Deputy Gormley, will deal with the situation himself. This clearly shows the difficult relationship there is between the Green Party and Fianna Fáil.

I wish to deal with one other major issue, which is the use of microchips to control the dog industry. The Minister stated in his opening address that the working group recommended that all dogs kept in breeding establishments including their offspring should be electronically micro-chipped to ensure traceability and assist the enforcement of the registration system. It is rich that the Government is using such a system to control the movement of dogs - which I welcome - when it has refused over the years to use such a system for the movement of cattle. For some time I have said that the use of a microchip was clearly the ideal and necessary means but the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food always found an excuse to claim it was not suitable. The present tagging system is totally questionable. If this is successful in the dog industry, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food might learn something from it.

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