Results 61-80 of 12,956 for speaker:Louise O'Reilly

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: I did dislike dogs, to be fair. I read a study which indicated that governments or whomever is responsible should be looking at the quantity of pet food that is sold as an indication. If we were to measure the amount of pet food that is sold against the number of licences, I imagine that we would be talking about a very small number, on the one hand, and a large amount, on the other. That...

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: We do not measure it. I ask for the witnesses' thoughts on the pet food. I also have another question. It is to do with dogs stolen to order. We need to emphasise that this is an activity related to the type of crime we see covered under the heading of gangland or organised crime. It is a serious element of that. It is not a small thing. It is part of a wider criminal enterprise. You...

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: No, it was a British magazine. It was a British study.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: There is a big gap. That was my point. You have to be using something to measure it. If there are dog licences for 1,000 dogs, but pet food is sold to feed 50,000 dogs, then you know there is a gap. We should be using other mechanisms to look at how we quantify the sheer number of pets out there.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: That is a good way to do it.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: We should explore that a little, if you can.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: We cannot say enough about education, information and raising awareness. To be fair, we should come at it from the perspective that most people want to do the right thing. Most people love their pets and want to protect them. Even most people who do not have pets think there should be rules in place to ensure pets and companion animals are protected. People maybe think there is a lot more...

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: If it sounds too good to be true, it generally is.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: That is a good call.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: That point is well made, but notwithstanding the occasion, it is a good point to make that there is that link between pet theft and criminality without naming any particular venue at all.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: No, but that is not to say this is not happening; it is.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: When we talk about the link between pet theft and criminality, we are talking about monitoring the situation in the same way we have to monitor all forms of criminal activity. The point is well made. We should be careful about naming specific websites and talking too much about them, only because for every one we name, there are ten that we do not name. Let us be fair.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: That is not all. It is on social media, in the mainstream media and on WhatsApp groups. It is right across the board, not just at horse fairs. It is on other occasions and at other markets. If we isolate one, we miss the fact that this is happening all around us. It is not a case of saying "I am not going to such and such a market, so therefore I am not part of it." It is actually...

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: I thank Ms Fitzpatrick very much. I ask committee members to remain for a few moments because we have a small piece of business to finish. I thank the witnesses most sincerely, not just for today - obviously this is a very important part of it - but for all of the work they have done and will continue to do. We can tell from the presentations how passionate they feel. I want our...

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: I will fly through this. I am under a bit of pressure for time. I propose that the petitions considered by the committee at this meeting and previous meetings be published and that the replies from the Department and other bodies may also be published. Is that agreed? Agreed. We have five petitions to consider. P00002/25 proposes that we would publish the response received from the...

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: It is not one size fits all. It is not magic. To be fair, we are throwing everything into the mix here to make sure that we catch everything when it comes to thefts and returns.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: Had Senator Brady anything to add?

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: We often do not harness the power of the census.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: There are those car boot markets that are set up as well. I know that is a problem.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Petition on Reform of Pet Laws (30 Sep 2025)

Louise O'Reilly: It is the link with criminality that I think would shock a lot of people. I thank our witnesses for sharing the information with us and continuing their campaign and the work they do, and for allowing the committee to be part of that debate. We will consider what they have given to us and how we can advance this. We will talk to the secretariat and consider it ourselves. We will certainly...