Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

What is unusual about this is that the responsibilities are divided among three Departments - the Departments of Rural and Community Development, Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Housing, Planning and Local Government - which is very unsatisfactory. It is similar to responsibility for traffic law being divided between the Department of Justice and Equality and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

We still have a bad international reputation as the puppy farm capital of Europe. The UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove, is planning to introduce legislation on puppy farms and puppy smuggling and the alleged illegal trade in this country has been highlighted as a major issue. In fact, the United Kingdom wants to inaugurate a regime that will outlaw third party sales and under which one will only be able to buy a puppy from a legitimate breeder. We still hear horror stories about illegal breeders being discovered with perhaps hundreds of dogs in very bad conditions. It is a major responsibility for the Department. My colleague, Deputy Clare Daly, raised this issue many times with the Minister of State's predecessor. I have been informed that she has been in contact with the Minister of State's office and that the previous Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, agreed to meet the voluntary groups and distinguished animal rights activists on animal rights, the inspection of dog breeding establishments and the new guidelines from January 2019. As I know that the Minister of State tries to reach out to people, will he guarantee that he will meet the activists as soon as possible?

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