Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I am glad the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, is present to deal with the legislation. I hope his presence and responses will help to alleviate some of the concerns which may be felt, rightly or wrongly, by some of our constituents about the broader aspects of the Bill which we will debate later today.

The amendment has been proposed by my colleague and friend, Senator Coffey. On first reading, an application within three months may appear appropriate or reasonable. However, reading what is required in the application, there certainly could be difficulties. For example, the application must contain such other information as may be prescribed, but we do not know yet what that information may be or whether financial projections and so on are required. It could be difficult to have a proper application within a three month period. It would be fair enough if the Bill stipulated that one had to write to a local authority within three months and state one's intention to apply. However, we do not know what the information required may be, so three months may be a little unreasonable.

The Minister knows that we all want to see this Bill enacted, and we support his efforts to regulate puppy farms and shut down puppy farms that are being run in an improper fashion. To send the right signal that we can all work together on this Bill, I ask the Minister to look favourably on Senator Coffey's amendment or come up with some compromise. That is a reasonable request and I look forward to the Minister being equally reasonable in response.