Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Group 3 consists of drafting amendments to definition of "protected animal". These are amendments 4 and 5. Following legal advice, it was deemed more correct to make clear that the Bill is limited to those animals in the State and those animals that are specifically owned.

There was an issue in relation to Northern Ireland versus the Republic of Ireland here because, essentially, we were referring to animals on the island of Ireland. We had to clarify with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, DARD, north of the Border that this Bill applies to animals in the Republic of Ireland. That is the clarification on amendments Nos. 4 and 5.