Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. It is obviously a really important issue and there have been a number of really distressing incidents over the past two or three months in particular. It is an issue that the Government takes very seriously. Myself and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, are in the two Departments that have responsibility for overseeing the issue of dog control.

We established a working group, which has completed its report. We will shortly bring proposals to Cabinet on that and further legislation will be brought forward as well, which will cover enforcement and fines and better bring together oversight of the issue. We want to ensure that people who have dogs take full responsibility for their ownership and that farmers or people going about their normal lives are safe. If somebody does not take their responsibility seriously, there should be strong penalties in place, and that is something the Government will expedite.

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