Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

In the past number of years, Aontú has introduced two animal welfare Bills. One related to puppy farms and the second to the stealing of pets from families. The reason we did so is because the entire animal welfare space in this country is in a bad place; so much so, that dog charities are currently at breaking point. The responsibility for animal welfare is split between four different Departments currently and puppy farms are churning out 30,000 puppies on an annual basis in this State. When we brought forward our Bills, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, said the Government would bring about a Bill and there was no need for ours but that was more than 18 months ago at this stage. Where is the Government's response to the animal welfare issues that are experienced in every county? Where is the Bill and when will it come before the Dáil?

See this speech in context