Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely. If the commitment was made by the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, I will honour it. My officials will be in contact with the Deputy in that regard. He is correct that three Departments are involved in the overall control of dogs. My Department is involved in the policy area. The dog breeding establishment guidelines were published in July and will come into effect in January 2019. They have been well received by people involved in the dog breeding business. Of course, it might be said we should go further with certain aspects, but the guidelines need time to work. The local authorities are the enforcement agencies, while the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has overall responsibility for the welfare of animals, including dogs. From what I have seen, I can guarantee that the three Departments work very closely together to ensure there is a huge shift towards focusing on the welfare of dogs and puppies. That is what it is all about.

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