Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today, I wish to raise the case of Alejandro Miszan, the nine-year-old boy from Enniscorthy who was mauled by a pitbull at the weekend. The story is covered by the media. It is told in particular detail by Ms Amy Molloy in the Irish Independentbut Alejandro's brother, Raul, was on RTÉ as well this morning outlining the impact that this incident has had. The injuries that this nine-year-old has suffered are life-changing but this event has not only impacted on him; it has also impacted on his family, on those who would have seen the attack and, indeed, on the wider community in Enniscorthy in County Wexford.

Unfortunately, we are seeing far too many of these attacks by some of these dogs. As the House will be aware, the Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 place particular restrictions on 11 different breeds. There are requirements that these animals must be muzzled in public and, indeed, that they should be held on a strong lead at all times by somebody over the age of 16. It is clear because we know there was another attack in Dublin earlier this year. In fact, Dogs Trust Ireland reported that in 2020 there were 320 people hospitalised due to dog bites.

I hope that Alejandro and his family can come through this as well as they can. I pay tribute to the crew of Coast Guard Rescue 117, who airlifted the boy to Crumlin Children's Hospital, and to those who work in Crumlin, but we need to do more. These attacks are becoming far too common. Ms Molloy reports that between 2016 and 2021, there were 1,705 attacks on humans by dogs. There is also concern about attacks on livestock.In the same period, there have been 1,351 attacks on livestock, according to the Garda. Clearly, the regulations that are in place are not strong enough. It must be asked whether we should continue to allow some of these dangerous dogs to be licensed at all. I fear it is only a matter of time before a child potentially loses his or her life as a result of one of these attacks. For the sake of those children, and particularly Alejandro and what he has experienced, we need to take action. I ask that we look at a review of the control of dogs regulations. It is time to consider a ban on these 11 breeds, or certainly stronger regulations.