Ray Butler (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill. I have much more to say but I will finish by saying that breeding rates are down all over the country and we need a new scheme for breeding. We had a scheme in the 1990s that worked well, where if one kept a brood bitch and raced her for ten races, one received IR£150, while if one kept her for another ten races, one received IR£300. If that bitch produced a litter of pups, the owner received IR£300 when the pups were on the ground. We must implement something like that for the industry to get breeding going again because there is a shortage of dogs.I thank the Minister for coming here today. I welcome the Bill and I will contribute further on it when it returns to the House.