Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Again, it is important to support the points being made about the media coverage of the debate yesterday and the misrepresentation of what we are trying to deal with. It is yet another example of the very poor quality of media we have in this country. We had a debate on very substantial legislation dealing with animal health and welfare. While we might be among the Minister's biggest critics, it does not take away from the fact that many of the measures included in the Bill will improve animal welfare beyond anything we have seen before. The media singled out one very important issue in respect of a very important part of the animal population because citizens love their dogs. Many people already microchip their dogs and pay big money for them. As Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív noted, they pay a considerable amount of money to keep them. It is incredible that a protection measure for their benefit would be misrepresented in that way. It is also incredible that the media did not bother to address the significant omissions from the Bill, including - the key source of disappointment for most Irish people - measures to deal with fox hunting and hare coursing.

The Minister is providing for the microchipping of all dogs, which is great. I note the point he has made that this will be a gradual move, not happen overnight and be done in a way that will minimise the cost to homeowners. The problem is that cats are not treated in that way. It is not that the amendment is making a distinction between domestic and feral cats, as the legislation does this. That is the problem because it classes cats that are not owned as vermin. In that sense, they do not have protection under the Bill and pest control companies can legally trap and kill them. The legislation protects owned cats, but, as Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan noted, one cannot distinguish between the two as they wander. While there is a code of practice in place, the problem is having that code implemented. I know the Minister increased the funding, but there is a significant number of groups that do much work through voluntarism and which need much more than what has been provided, particularly against a backdrop of austerity where animal welfare issues are more to the fore.

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