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

The stakeholder group has had an initial meeting and a follow-up meeting as well. The members are looking at a number of issues. I am happy to hear what their views are. It is a diverse group and I will take on board the recommendations they put forward to me.

Going back to the dog wardens, I have given more funding - an extra €2 million - to local authorities to upgrade the dog shelters and buy more dog warden vehicles and such things. Staffing of the dog wardens is for the local authorities themselves. I have spoken to the Minister, Darragh O'Brien, about more dog wardens and he is looking at providing increased staffing resources to the local authorities so they can increase the number of dog wardens on the ground.

No matter what we do, the dog warden cannot be everywhere. We have a personal responsibility to look after our dog and to know where it is at all times. The Deputy mentioned children. It was desperate what happened to that young lad in Wexford. It really was horrific. That sort of behaviour by those dog owners is wrong. They should keep their dogs under control. We need to have responsible breeding practices as well. I do not understand why people want to breed dogs that are vicious. It is not Jurassic Park here. People should not need to breed dogs just for the sole purpose of making them as vicious as possible. As I said before, these dogs are just fashion statements for criminals. This is something about which I will be asking the new stakeholder group to consider what we should do because it is something that causes a lot of upset and annoyance, especially in communities.

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