Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Amendments Nos. 7 to 13, inclusive, are to sections 26, 28 and 29. Essentially, they are identical amendments tabled to the sections that relate to the artificial insemination of greyhounds, the traceability of greyhounds and the welfare of racing greyhounds. The overall affect of the amendments would be to increase and clarify the regulatory responsibilities of the Irish Greyhound Board in respect of these three areas.

By replacing the word "may" with "shall" and inserting the words "each of" before words "the following", the amendments taken together would mean that the board's regulatory powers would cease being statutory capabilities and become statutory responsibilities. In addition, every subsection in which the board is currently able to regulate would no longer be optional and at the discretion of the board but a statutory requirement set out in law.

Section 26 is on the artificial insemination of greyhounds. As drafted, the Bill would allow the board to skip section 26(1)(n) as it issues its regulations in this area. Section 26(1)(n) refers to "measures relating to the health and welfare of greyhounds at such centres". We do not want the health and safety requirements within this Bill to be optional. We want them to be as strong as possible to safeguard the welfare of the animals. With our amendment to section 26, we would simply strengthen and clarity the regulatory responsibilities of the board.

Another example can be found in section 28, which refers to the traceability of greyhounds. This is an extremely important issue for maintaining the oversight of the welfare of animals and general accountability of the industry. Section 28(1)(a) to (h), inclusive, set out strong and comprehensive provisions for the practical ways a traceability database will work. What we seek to achieve with our amendments Nos. 9 and 10 is to ensure that the board has a statutory responsibility to issue regulations in this area and that every area outlined in section 28(1) must be regulated for, with no exceptions. The amendments would increase the effectiveness of the overall intention of section 28 and strengthen the tracing framework. It would be a worthy addition to the Bill.

We also propose amendments to section 29, which is significant as it is the main section that refers to the health and welfare of racing greyhounds. We want this section to be as strong as possible. The addition of the words "shall" and "each of" would increase the effectiveness of the provisions and raise welfare standards in the industry. We want all parts of the section to be compulsory in terms of the board's regulation of this area. This is what we seek to achieve with amendments Nos. 11 to 13, inclusive.

Amendment No. 14 is tabled in a similar vein to fix what would appear to be a grammatical error in section 29(1)(a)(i). Section 29(1)(a) states:

(a) requiring persons involved in greyhound racing to—(i) provide information for the purposes of the proper administration of the industry, or

(ii) protect the health and welfare of a racing greyhound.

From my reading of the paragraph, it appears that the provision makes regulations requiring persons involved in greyhound racing to "protect the health and welfare of a racing greyhound" optional. I believe those same persons should simply provide information for the purposes of the proper administration of the industry. This appears to be a drafting error as it would make the statutory responsibility to protect the welfare of greyhounds optional. My colleagues and I seek to replace the word "or" with "and" to make the paragraph (a)(i) and (ii) compulsory.

Amendment No. 15 would make an additional provision in the regulatory powers of the board and allow for the board to make regulations on provisions for the health and welfare of a racing greyhound that has been retired by its owners.In other words, these are retirement plans for the racing dogs. While I recognise that much progress has been made in recent years on conditions for dogs following retirement, with notable decreases in 2014 and 2015 in dog pound figures for greyhounds being put to sleep and a notable rise in the number of greyhounds being transferred to welfare groups, there are still no industry-wide standards and regulations on the best way for a dog's welfare and health to be managed in its retirement. We are, therefore, seeking to place responsibility on the board to take on this task and issue those guidelines for how these dogs should be treated. The amendment is supported by Dogs Trust Ireland.