Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise a serious issue that has horrified the nation and has terrified parents of young children in recent days. A nine year-old boy suffered what can only be described as horrific injuries on Sunday afternoon when he was savagely attacked by a pit bull dog while playing football with his friends in the green area at the estate where he lives in Wexford. The little boy remains in a serious condition in hospital following the attack by a dog that was not under the control of its owner. Nor was it muzzled.

There has been a significant rise in the number of dog attacks on humans in the past five years, with more than 1,700 of these attacks reported from 2016 to 2021. They have had difficulty in finding the dog's owner. The full forces of the law need to be applied where an incident such as this that alters a child's life occurs. Do we need to do more to target the owners of these dogs that are listed as dangerous breeds, and which continue to be in public areas without a lead or a muzzle? Does the legislation need to be strengthened to make dog owners accountable for these dangerous breeds that pose a risk to humans?

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