John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

This Bill seeks to ensure that we are dealing not just with the question of animal welfare, but that the dog breeding establishments will benefit. We already have a problem as we have a reputation for being the dog breeding capital of Europe, with all the animal welfare issues associated with that. This means that we are not held in high esteem, and one only has to read some of the articles that have appeared in the British press. This Bill will be of major benefit to dog breeders.

People are misreading the Bill. We want to ensure a smooth transition and this proposed amendment would extend the period for owners to register their dog breeding establishments from three months to 12 months. We have consulted widely on this issue, and it could be argued that the five years that have elapsed since the report of the working group is ample lead-in time. We have been talking about this over and over again, yet we are here on Committee Stage and I am being told that people are not aware of this. They have been made aware of it and they have been given ample time.

I am trying to ensure that we have a smooth transition to full registration, while keeping the period allowed for registration meaningful. Therefore, I propose to retain the three month period for registration provided for in the Bill. The three month period starts from the date of the enactment of the Bill. In view of the number of representations that my Department has received on this Bill, I can safely say that there are very few dog breeders here who are not aware of the Bill and its proposed requirements. People have been made aware of this.

Senators have raised certain issues related to the Hunting Association of Ireland and the Irish Greyhound Board. Representatives from these bodies assured us that their breeding establishments maintain the very highest voluntary standards, and on that basis I cannot see that their establishments will need significant alterations to meet the requirements of the proposed legislation. Those regulations will be made. We must enact the Bill first and then we will bring in the regulations.

While the Bill provides for a three month grace period, I envisage that the submission for an application for registration within that period will see a dialogue begin between the local authority and the establishment to ensure that any requirements are met. We are not coming in here with a heavy hand and this is not draconian. We will bring in registration and then examine how each breeder can make his or her establishment a better place in respect of welfare. It is in the best interests of the dog breeders to comply with this. They know that their reputation is at stake. If they want to sell their puppies abroad, they must ensure that the highest standards apply. The message that we are getting from our consultations is that for the most part, they comply with those standards. There are those few people who are bringing us all into disrepute, as Senator Dearey pointed out, and that is very regrettable.

Once an establishment acts in good faith to implement improvements, it is my intention that the relevant local authority will work with the breeding establishment. This is about co-operation and is not about heavy handedness. I have concluded that the three month period is definitely sufficient. As we are talking now, those establishments have an opportunity to come in and talk to my officials. In fact, they have been speaking to my officials in recent years.

This Bill has been in gestation for a long time. I am not bringing it in all of a sudden. We have been talking about it for years. It is not as if people did not know about it. The local authority officials will not demand that this place or that place be closed down. They will act where people are clearly in defiance of the rules, but anybody who is co-operates will get every assistance from the local authorities.