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

I will answer that question. There is a touch of Animal Farm about this discussion, in that some cats are more equal than others. I take the Deputy's point. I do not wish to make too many promises in this regard but I will come back to the committee in the autumn with some proposed initiatives.

I will clarify what I propose to do with regard to the micro-chipping of dogs. We want every dog in the country micro-chipped and those micro-chips to contribute to a national register, just as we will need for horses. This will allow me to answer the question of the number of dogs in the country, their owners and their locations.

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