Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this matter with respect to dog breeding establishments and the number of exports internationally. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has asked me to take this matter on his behalf. The Dog Breeding Establishments Act provides a regulatory framework for the licensing, monitoring and inspection of dog breeding establishments by local authorities and where a serious and immediate threat exists to public health or animal health and welfare for the closure of such establishments. Local authorities are responsible for the enforcement of the Act. Section 9 of the Act states that each local authority shall cause to be established and maintained a register of dog breeding establishments situated in its functional area. Therefore, the legal responsibility to maintain a register of dog breeding establishments is a matter for each local authority.

However, recommendation 11 of the Report of the Working Group on Control of Dogs recommended that a centralised national database of dog breeding establishments should be created. In 2023, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht reached out to local authorities to collate their registers. The Dog Breeding Establishment National Register was then published on gov.ie. Data on the number of pups bred in dog breeding establishments was not requested at that time. In March 2025, information was requested from local authorities to update the register, to include the number of female dogs in each dog breeding establishment, but the number of pups bred was not requested as part of these returns. The updated register will be published on gov.ie in the coming weeks once all the returns have been collated, based on the information that was provided by the local authorities.

Regarding the number of dogs exported internationally, these are facilitated through commercial movements. Commercial movement of pets is defined where a pet, or pets, are either travelling unaccompanied, or are travelling for the use of trading, or for shows, sporting events or where an owner has more than five pets travelling. All commercial movements of dogs require certification. The type of certification is dependent on whether the destination is to other EU countries or non-EU countries. The number of dogs exported commercially from Ireland in the past five years are as follows: in 2020, 8,993; in 2021, 10,581; in 2022, 7,089; in 2023, 9,440; and in 2024, 8,768. Certification must be signed off by a veterinary inspector in the regional veterinary office of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. An exporter must contact their local regional veterinary office to have an inspection of the shipment of dogs completed prior to travel. The regional veterinary office inspection includes relevant paperwork, vaccines, microchips, health certificates, animal welfare and confirmation that the exporter is registered with the Department.

As part of the programme for Government, this Government is addressing the disjointed approach to dog control issues ensuring all legislation and policy related to the control of dogs, dog welfare, and dog breeding establishments will rest with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. As the Deputy knows, there is a mechanism by which transfers of functions happen when new Governments take up office and when new Departments are established. Policy and legislative responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2020 is due to transfer to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht imminently. Both Departments are working closely together to ensure the smooth transfer of functions.

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