Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael)

I am pleased to speak on the Welfare of Greyhounds Bill 2011 and welcome the Minister of State on this, the second or third occasion he has appeared before the House.

It is important that the greyhound industry, like all industries, is regulated. The enactment of this legislation will ensure greyhounds are protected from undesirable treatment. By way of background, the Bill was initiated on 13 December 2010 by the previous Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith. The legislation before us has been set the same objective as the 2010 Bill, namely, to enhance the welfare of greyhounds, particularly through the regulation of greyhound breeding and greyhound breeding establishments. Under the Bill, which was discussed in the Dáil on 13 June, the Irish Coursing Club is required to establish a register of greyhound breeding establishments. A series of public consultations took place at the drafting stages and the then Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food consulted the Irish Greyhound Board, Irish Coursing Club and representatives of the welfare sector on the proposed legislation.

The new Bill contains some minor changes from the 2010 Act. One of the main changes is the introduction of a provision requiring the Irish Greyhound Board to publish and take representations on any proposed amendments to the code of practice for the welfare of greyhounds in the same way as it must publish and take representations on a new code of practice. In a second significant change, section 26 provides that penalties for offences will be class A fines rather than fines not exceeding €5,000. The Fines Act specifies a table of fines to be used where the Oireachtas imposes monetary penalties to allow for more efficient revision of fines to reflect changes in the value of money over time.

The Bill complements the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. In 2010, at a meeting of the then Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Bord na gCon provided a short overview of the greyhound industry. I will recap on some of the main points to give Senators a clear view of the economic value of the greyhound industry. There are 17 greyhound stadia in the Republic, of which nine are directly owned by Bord na gCon and eight privately owned. Approximately 11,000 people derive employment, both direct and indirect, from the greyhound industry which is responsible for economic turnover valued at €500 million. In 2010, the industry received €11.8 million via the horse and greyhound fund and during that period it returned €5.5 million to the Government in direct and indirect taxes. It must be recognised that the greyhound industry has been extremely successful in helping various clubs, social groups, schools and good causes to raise money through the use of its stadia. There are multiple tourism benefits relating to the industry which attracts many visitors to Ireland. We hear of people who go on outings and many different parties go for a "night at the dogs", where they can enjoy good food in the stadia. That is excellent.

I shall now address the content of the Bill, which comes in five parts. The first part concerns the registration of greyhounds. The second deals with the general welfare of greyhounds and states that Bord na gCon will be responsible for the establishment of a code of practice under section 6 of the Bill. This will be for the purpose of providing practical guidance relating to the welfare of greyhounds and related matters.

Section 6(5) states:

Before establishing or adopting or amending a code of practice the Board shall----- (a) publish on the internet a draft of the proposed code or amendment and shall give persons one month from the date of the publication to make written representation to the Board

Specific welfare standards are covered in section 7 of the Bill and these are important to ensure the general welfare of greyhounds. For example, this section sets out:

(1) A person who keeps, trades in, transports, breeds, rears, trains, races or courses a greyhound shall ensure that—

(a) the greyhound is kept at all times in accommodation that is suitable as respects construction, size of quarters, number of occupants, exercise facilities, temperature, lighting, ventilation and cleanliness

The section also sets out that the greyhound should have suitable diet, adequate exercise and that appropriate measures should be in place for the greyhound in the case of emergency.

The scope of the Bill also covers regulations regarding welfare and related matters. Section 8 of the Bill provides that: "The Minister may, after consultation with the Board and the Club, by regulations, make provision for the protection and enhancement of the health, welfare and the care of greyhounds". The scope of the proposed additional provision can cover food, materials utilised for the housing of greyhounds and supervision and maintenance of the premises where greyhounds are housed.

Importantly, section 9 caters for the making of regulations regarding the identification and traceability of the greyhound, by means of a tattoo, document or electronic means. It is important to have an effective and efficient tracing mechanism for all animals in the industry. This is in no way different to the tagging of sheep or cattle in the agricultural industry.

I move to Part 3 which covers greyhound breeding. There are strict restrictions in this area. It is an offence to allow a female greyhound to give birth more than six times during her lifetime unless section 11(c) applies, whereby a veterinary practitioner specifies that the pregnancy and birth do not present a risk to the health or welfare of the female. A certificate to this effect must be lodged at the Irish Coursing Club.

Section 12 provides for the establishment of a register of greyhound breeding establishments and states, "Where a person proposes to operate a greyhound breeding establishment, he or she shall, in accordance with this section, apply to the Club to have the premises at which it is proposed to operate the greyhound breeding establishment registered in the register".

The nature of the legislation is retrospective, as section 12(3) stipulates:

A person who, immediately before the commencement of this section, was operating a greyhound breeding establishment shall, if he or she wishes to continue operating the establishment after such commencement, apply not later than 3 months after such commencement, to the Club to have the establishment registered in the register.

All greyhound breeding establishments should be treated in the same manner.

The Irish Coursing Club may refuse to register premises under section 12 of the Bill. Grounds for refusal may include the commission by an applicant of an offence under the Act, an offence including cruelty to an animal or, for example, the contravention by the applicant of the Protection of Animals Acts 1911 and 1965. It is noteworthy that the applicant must have an opportunity to submit a representation to the club before a decision to refuse to register a premises for greyhound breeding establishment can be made.