Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome the introduction of this legislation. It represents a step forward in animal welfare in this country, but that is not to say I welcome all aspects of the legislation. I have some issues about some of its provisions, with which I will deal later. I serve notice that we may table some amendments to it on Committee Stage but, in general terms, we are very supportive of it. The Bill's primary purpose is to regulate dog breeding establishments. Councils will be required to maintain a register of dog breeding establishments and the operation of unregistered establishments will be outlawed.

We are all aware of and have heard from other Senators of appalling cases involving the breeding of dogs over the years. Hundreds of dogs are kept on some farms. Animal welfare groups and others are rightly concerned about outbreaks of diseases such as canine brucellosis. Recently, the chief executive of the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals commented on one farm and said it was one of Europe's largest mass breeding establishments. It is estimated there could be as many as 1,000 dogs on the farm. The operators of that farm refused to co-operate with a visit from the society and reluctantly confirmed the presence of canine brucellosis. This is what can happen when we have an unregulated puppy farm industry.

Ireland has become known as the puppy farm capital of Europe. It is estimated that up to 1,000 puppies a week are exported from these shores. Such breeding occurs in battery farming style. Some establishments can contain up to 300 breeding bitches, each having two or three litters a year, and they can charge in the order of €300 or €400 for each pup.

Thankfully, the Government acted and in 2004 set up a working group to review the management of the dog breeding establishments nationally. The then Minister appointed Mr. Finbar Heslin, a veterinary surgeon, as chairman of the working group, which comprised representatives from bodies such as the Veterinary Council of Ireland, the Irish Greyhound Board, the Garda Síochána, local authorities and the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. We are all grateful for the time and effort these organisations put into the deliberations of the working group. We see the fruits of their labour in the form of the Bill.

The legislation will provide safeguards for dogs in breeding establishments and assurances to customers that pups and their mothers have been treated well in these establishments. Each local authority will be required to have a dog register for breeding establishments and will require the operators of them to register and pay an annual fee. Each premises will receive a registration certificate, which must be prominently displayed. Under the terms of the Bill, a local authority will be empowered to issue a closure notice to establishments and order them to cease breeding dogs if they are not fit places for breeding purposes. It will be a criminal offence to operate an unlicensed dog breeding establishment. As the Minister, Deputy Gormley, said recently, this will stop backstreet dog breeders and benefit those commercial bodies which do a good job and treat their animals humanely.

The operations manager of the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Ms Orla Aungier, said the regulation and licensing of dog breeding establishments would end the practice whereby Ireland has become the puppy breeding capital of Europe because of the current lack of regulation. She is excited about this Bill, but has pointed out that it is critical the necessary financial measures are put in place to ensure the Bill is enforced at local level. A key requirement is the ability of the local authority to enforce the measures. The Bill is meant to be self-financing, but I am not convinced that significant enforcement measures will be in place and will be used, based on my experience of the enforcement powers and procedures of local authorities.

On a related matter, many local authorities are failing to establish measures to prevent dog fouling in their localities and are not enforcing their powers with regard to owners who allow their dogs to foul public spaces, footpaths and so on. In County Meath our dogs are no better and no worse than anywhere else and the vast majority of owners are upstanding citizens, but there are a few who do not seem to care where their dogs foul. My experience has been that it can be difficult to persuade local officials to enforce the law and tackle the problem. They often fail to see it as a problem and sometimes the measures they take are inadequate or do not compare favourably with what is done in neighbouring jurisdictions. Official guidance from the Minister's Department on best practice for local authorities would be a positive step in this regard.

I welcome the fact this Bill is before the House. While speaking in general terms about the Bill it is useful to raise other issues regarding dogs, because we rarely get to talk about dogs in the House and it is a subject close to my heart. One issue is the noise made by dogs in housing estates. Many of us have received numerous complaints over the years about dogs barking throughout the day and night when their owners are away from home. Citizens are finding it difficult to persuade local councils to enforce regulations, and there are issues with regard to the confidentiality of complainants. It is not easy for the average Joe to make a complaint about dog noise in an estate. Again, I ask the Minister to consider issuing guidance to local authorities to ensure our citizens do not have to be subjected to ongoing and incessant noise from dogs because their owners are unable or unwilling to silence them.

I welcome the measures in this legislation with regard to the identification of stray dogs and dog traceability. I agree that the higher cost of acquiring a dog may force potential owners to consider the implications of owning a dog and perhaps think twice before getting one. Dog ownership is not something that should be taken on lightly. I recognise this may cause hardship to senior citizens who are surviving on a pension, so I ask the Minister to consider providing a waiver to senior citizens and those less well off people who want the benefit of a dog for company or security.

Finally, I ask the Minister for clarification of the impact of these regulations on hunting kennels. I have been contacted by various hunting groups about this. The Hunting Association of Ireland has publicly accused the Minister of doing a U-turn and reneging on his promise to make hunt clubs exempt from the legislation. I believe assurances were given in the past with regard to hunt kennels and I am asking the Minister whether he has changed his mind in this regard. Did he provide an assurance and is he now doing a U-turn? If so, can he tell us why it is so essential for hunt kennels to be included in this legislation? He should make the case for this.

We welcome the Bill in general terms, although we reserve the right to table amendments on Committee Stage.