Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green Party)

I welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome this important legislation, which will provide for a much better environment for dog breeding. I am a former member of Galway City Council and there is one dog warden in the city, which is not sufficient to deal with the large number dogs, including strays, in the city. Dogs are bred for fighting, to which another Member referred earlier. Dog fighting is illegal and unacceptable but, nevertheless, it happens. One dog warden, therefore, cannot deal with all dog-related activities in a city the size of Galway.

Sections 16 and 17 provide for authorised persons to become involved in the policing of dogs within a local authority area. It will allow for veterinarians and people involved in animal welfare - the Galway Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals, in the case of Galway, and the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in the case of Dublin. That is a very welcome provision because it will allow local authorities to control the situation but not at any great cost to themselves. It will allow people who have great knowledge in the area concerned to get involved in the policing of dogs. That is a very important provision.

We have much very good legislation but local authorities in particular find it very difficult to enforce it. The idea that we would look outside the cost structure of the local authorities, in particular in these difficult times, and look for help from people who are only too willing to give it and give them the power and authority to work with local authorities to achieve a better outcome is very good. I commend the Minister in that regard.

Sections 18 and 19 allow for improvement and closure notices to be served on establishments, which is very good. The local authorities will register all the local dog breeding establishments within their areas. There is a methodology whereby they can first serve an improvement notice on an establishment and if that fails to deal with the issue of animal welfare or health and safety, a closure notice can be served. That is important.

I wish to address certain points raised by Senators O'Toole and John Paul Phelan because they seem to be connecting this Bill to Bills on hunting. In some strange way, Senator John Paul Phelan connected the Bill to NAMA. I am not quite sure how this Bill relates to NAMA. It is quite a stretch of the imagination. Puppy farming and NAMA require quite different legislation.