Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

These amendments will allow a horizontal regime to supersede existing provisions for identification in the Control of Dogs Act 1986, the Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010 and the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011. I am proposing an amendment to Schedule 3 to provide that the Minister may introduce such regulations without the need for local authorities to specifically request as is currently the case.

Regarding amendments Nos. 1 and 2, as we need to amend the Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010 and the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011, it is necessary to include in the Long Title that amendment to those Acts as proposed.

Amendment No. 27 effectively bypasses section 16 of Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010 in circumstances where a dog is identified in accordance with the animal health and welfare regulations. The purpose of this provision is to ensure the legislation is consistent and one measure does not contradict another.

In other words, I want to introduce a regulation which requires all dogs to be microchipped, a move I believe Deputies will welcome. It will take some time to put that regulation in place and we will have to go through a proper consultation process to ensure we get it right and make it as cost effective as possible. We also need to ensure the regulations linked with this Bill supersede what is already in the existing legislation, namely, the Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010 and the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011. Microchipping of dogs will apply across the board as it does already with dog-breeding establishments and the greyhound industry. We cannot have different standards applying depending on where a puppy happens to be born. We have learned a few lessons in the past several months with equine identity, passports and microchipping. I want a central database to know how many dogs there are in the country. Accordingly, if there is a case of a stray dog, or one which has suffered cruelty or was abandoned, we can then establish who owned the dog and take appropriate action.

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