Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I agree with Senator Coffey. I do not think the Minister of State has been well served by his officials. The reasons he has given for not accepting the amendment are not well thought out. He has told us the amendment is neither "feasible" nor "justifiable". We really wanted to see a better explanation. The Labour Party has discussed this issue at some length. While we will not support the Fine Gael amendment, we intend to pursue other amendments on how best to regulate inspections and on the ability of individuals to enter premises and carry out inspections of dogs. We have to ensure those who carry out inspections are completely independent and not concerned about pushing a particular agenda. We will not support the amendment because we do not want to let Fianna Fáil Members off the hook. We want them to come into the Chamber and vote in support of the Government's position in order that it will be clear to everybody that this is a Green Party-led initiative that the vast majority of Fianna Fáil Members do not support but are willing to push through to save their own skins.