Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's publication of the new dog breeding guidelines as promised. There are many positive inclusions on the conditions in which dogs are kept, the environment, health and welfare record keeping and so on. However, the problem is that they are still only guidelines and it is up to individual breeders to take them on. There is a lack of sufficient enforcement by the local authorities. Given the public outcry over the "Panorama" programme on the Misty Meadow puppy farm in Cavan and the fact the council took no action in spite of the evidence, how can the Minister reassure us that the guidelines will make a difference?

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