Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. It is regrettable the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, could not be here. She sent her apologies. The reason I continually ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development into the House is that her Department has responsibility for the Control of Dogs Act 1986, which includes dangerous breeds. The dog breeding establishment licensing regulations also fall under the remit of this Department. One of the things the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine found in its recent report on canine welfare was the fact that issues relating to canine welfare and legislation fall across three Departments, which is regrettable as it makes it very hard for us to have a coherent approach when it comes to issues around dogs.

After the horrible attack on nine-year-old Alejandro Mizsan in County Wexford, there is a growing concern within the public about attacks by certain breeds of dogs. TheIrish Independentreviewed the data from local authorities since 2016. There are a couple of issues. Apart from the fact that the number of attacks by certain breeds is increasing, there is also much concern around the fact there is not consistency in the reporting by different local authorities. Fingal County Council said it started recording the breeds involved in attacks only this year. South Dublin County Council declined to comment. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council recorded 11 attacks involving pitbulls. Dublin City Council had 80 complaints about aggressive dogs but did not provide a breakdown of the breeds involved. Other local authorities did provide a breakdown of the breeds. That shows there is a lack of consistency around the Control of Dogs Act, particularly those regulations that apply to the dangerous breeds.

One of the questions for the Minister of State is what he will do about that lack of coherency around the Control of Dogs Act. I hear repeatedly from Ministers of State who come into the Chamber and read out the position from the line Minister that the Department is responsible for the legislation but not its implementation. If I go then to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, however, it sends me back to the Department of Rural and Community Development.

There are a number of issues around the control of dogs, one of which is the number of wardens in the local authorities who are actually able to enforce the legislation. We are quite lucky in this country that we have good animal welfare legislation. It could be improved but it is especially strong. The issues are more about the enforcement of that legislation. Therefore, what is the Department's view on the adequacy of the number of wardens within the local authorities? Do they have the resources they need? We know the problem with many of these dangerous breeds is that people are not muzzling them. People are not actually complying with the regulations. The regulations are there and they are very clear but people are not complying. The reason they are not complying is they have no fear of being caught because dog wardens are few and far between.

The other issue, which again falls under the remit of the Department of Rural and Community Development, is the fact it has responsibility for the dog breeding establishment licensing. I draw the Minister of State's attention to a number of recommendations in the Oireachtas joint committee report.Recommendation No. 10 flags the issue of the 1:25 ratio of staff to dogs in dog breeding establishments. Recommendation No. 11 calls for a cap on breeding bitches. Recommendation No. 12 calls for greater socialisation of puppies, which is particularly relevant as dog pounds have stated that many dogs are being surrendered by their owners because the dogs are presenting with behavioural issues, with such behavioural issues manifesting in dog attacks. We must get a grip on the dog breeding establishments and puppy farms and we need a cap on the number of breeding bitches. There needs to be a proper ratio of staff in order that dogs are properly socialised by the time they are purchased.

Recommendation No. 4 is about fertility clinics and this is particularly relevant to the bully dog breeds. Many people are providing fertility clinics from their back garden sheds, from which dogs born and are being sold for huge amounts of money. We are aware of the issues with some of the bully breeds, including the recent attack on poor Alejandro.

There is a lot for the Minister of State to address in this. When are we going to have coherency of canine legislation?