Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend my party colleague Senator Boylan on her work on this issue and welcome the Minister of State to the debate.

Overcrowding in Ireland’s dog pounds and shelters is the worst we have seen in a decade. In recent weeks, more than a dozen shelters have announced they have no space for new dogs. On one day alone, five shelters closed their doors. This surge can, in part, be attributed to the increase in the number of post-pandemic surrender requests from people who got pets during the lockdowns. There is a greater need for education and advice for people of the time and financial and emotional commitment involved in owning a dog. Different dogs have different needs in terms of exercise, food and other expenses. It is important for people to clearly understand how the full range of factors, including breed and age, can impact on this commitment.

Many people have often carried out this assessment and nonetheless gone on to buy a dog from a dog breeding establishment in good faith. Unfortunately, many are unaware and ill prepared to deal with the range of behavioural issues associated with such dogs. These behavioural issues are caused by the fact these dogs have been bred on industrial puppy farms, where they are inbred and deprived of human interaction for those important first few weeks. In the long term, how can overcrowding in shelters ever be effectively addressed if the Government continues to refuse to regulate these puppy farms or to end the harmful practices of inbreeding and a lack of socialisation?

As for the long-term use of these shelters, the overcrowding is not a new phenomenon. It cannot be attributed solely to an increase in the number of surrenders following Covid-19. Current legislation means animals are often kept for years before they can even begin to search for their forever home. While we all know the incredible and tireless work undertaken by those who care for animals in this position, it can often result in the animal being less easy to home than it would have been when it first presented. This can be due to a variety of factors including ageing and the associated medical costs and a lack of regular socialisation. Often, the quick resolution of this process is entirely dependent on the willingness of the current owner to engage actively with the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, ISPCA, to surrender the dog. The situation is even more precarious for puppies seized at ports and other points of entry to the island. Just yesterday, we heard the harrowing case of one such dog that had been kept for more than three years. Even apart from the social and other implications for the animal in question, this is an expensive undertaking, as anyone who has ever used a kennel will know.

Turning to the resourcing of animal shelters, the regulation of puppy farms and the prolonged use of shelters may require more long-term resolutions. The Government can also assist shelters in the short term. One way in which it can do this is by providing much-needed financial assistance to shelters. In the programme for Government, it committed to "a doubling of the ex-gratia funding for animal welfare organisations within two years.” Budget 2022, as Senator Boylan mentioned, provided for €3.7 million, a shortfall of €1.17 million on what the Government had initially proposed for this same period.

This is an issue on which there is a consensus among all our parties.Senator Boylan mentioned that we are not precious about the ownership of the Bill and that we are willing to work with all parties and none to progress the legislation through these Houses. I ask all Members to support us and invite any of our colleagues who believe they may be able to further progress the Bill to do so within their respective parties as well. Let us work together. I welcome the review of all animal welfare legislation that Senator Boylan and the folks on the Oireachtas joint committee have undertaken. Animals are our ancient brothers and sisters - they were here for millennia before we were - and it is only right that we give time and attention to these issues.