John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

By way of introduction, I inform the House that my Department has engaged with the stakeholders with a view to addressing any fears various interest group might have about the proposed legislation. Many of these fears were highlighted by Senators on Committee Stage, including concerns about inspections, the financial implications, breeding limitations, micro-chipping and the overall effect of implementation of the legislation. Senior officials from the Department have met the Irish Greyhound Board and the Irish Coursing Club on a number of occasions, with Dogs Trust and the Irish Kennel Club. This active engagement has resulted in amendments which I will signal today, as requested by Senator Bradford, as well as by Senator Glynn, to whom I spoke before coming into the House. The amendments will successfully allay many of the legitimate concerns of the Irish Greyhound Board, in particular. This process has taken considerable time to complete and is not without controversy. We have been working on the amendments and trying to do our very best to safeguard the interests of the stakeholder groups and ensure we do not veer too much that we somehow undermine the welfare considerations.