Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green Party)

It states that "the Local Authority may designate such and so many of its officials". Perhaps the Cork local authorities, about which Members spoke, have such well qualified officials but are we talking about taking somebody from water services and putting them into dog control? This is nonsense. Many local authorities do not have suitably qualified officials. If they have such officials, the difficulty is they are already working flat out. That is the reality in every local authority.

Fine Gael is suggesting that local authority officials, who are working flat out, and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food veterinarians, who are also working flat out and not able to cope, should be used for this purpose. The section suggests something very sensible, namely, that anybody who is suitably qualified as a veterinarian or anybody known to the local authority who is suitably qualified and has been involved in animal welfare for years may potentially be designated as a person suitable for inspections. This amendment is farcical and the section should stand as it is.