Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department has policy responsibility for the Control of Dogs Acts and local authorities have responsibility for all operational matters, including enforcement. The Control of Dogs Acts set out a number of legal obligations that all dog owners must comply with. I am committed to improving outcomes in dog control in Ireland and in this context, I recently increased on-the-spot fines for offences under the Control of Dogs Act, including trebling the fines for most serious offences from €100 to €300. Multiple fines can be issued where more than one offence occurs.

It is important for dog owners to be aware of their responsibilities, not just to the general public but also to their dogs. For this reason, I have just launched a major national awareness campaign to alert dog owners to their responsibilities and to raise awareness of the dangers that can be posed by uncontrolled dogs. In addition, I have established a high-level stakeholder group to consider and make recommendations to strengthen policy on these issues. I appointed John Twomey as chair of the stakeholder group, which comprises members with a broad range of expertise including academics, veterinary surgeons, local authorities, farming interests, charities working in the field and animal welfare experts. The first meeting of this group took place recently.

My Department has no role in the issuing of fixed-penalty notices but I believe dog wardens are well placed to detect and deal with offences under the Acts. To support the work of the wardens my Department is partly funding a national training programme for dog wardens to ensure consistency and a standardised approach to enforcement. This training commenced in April.

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