Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, to a particular seat in the Chamber. It is always good to see her there. She has a keen interest in the subject matter of the Bill.

I commend the Sinn Féin Seanad group on putting together a most worthwhile Bill. The Bill further strengthens provisions in animal health and welfare legislation relating to dogs, in particular re-homed puppies that have been brought into the country illegally and have been seized at ports. At the moment, when dogs are seized by authorities they must be housed in kennels while they wait for defendants to come to trial in court, which can take months or years. This current situation also results in significant costs for welfare organisation such as the DSPCA. It is not always possible to recover costs in court. The Bill also seeks to tighten the enforceability of obligations on dog owners to prove ownership of their dogs by linking the microchip to the dog licence. This will help in court cases where ownership of seized animals is asserted but rarely proven definitively.

It is a good Bill for animal welfare. The Green Party has always been supportive of legislation that supports animal welfare. Green Party policy in this area states that animals have the right, as sentient beings, to be protected from maltreatment and abuse at the hands of humans and to live in accordance with their natural instincts and needs.

The Minister of State has a particular interest in puppy farms and is doing fantastic work in that area. While many good dog breeding establishments exist, unfortunately, many others have poor animal welfare conditions. Stories break every year about illegal dog breeding farms. The puppies which are rescued must be re-homed, which is a considerable cost to organisations such as Dogs Trust and the ISPCA.

We do not have enough dog wardens. Freedom of information requests released to The Irish Timesshowed that there are 60 full-time dog wardens for 192,348 licensed dogs in Ireland, equating to 3,205 dog per warden. This is not good enough. It is no surprise that dog wardens are overworked and unable to perform their duties efficiently and to the best of their ability in an effective way.

Tougher restricted breed laws will stop dog attacks. Restricted breeds are dog breeds that are aggressive and violent. We all heard about the awful case in Waterford last week, where a boy was attacked by a dog who was off lead in a park. He has suffered life altering injuries and my thoughts and prayers go to him and his family.

There is not enough enforcement of the law relating to illegal dog behaviour. Most counties in Ireland imposed just a few dozen fines between 2018 and 2020, with almost all fines falling within three categories, namely a lack of proper control or fouling. Countrywide, I understand just six fines were imposed in respect of restricted dog breeds legislation for dogs that were not muzzled or were off lead.

In respect of the Bill, which I welcome, it is important to mention at this time of year dogs given as presents at Christmas. Dogs Trust has relaunched its campaign to advise the public not to give puppies as presents for Christmas. Every January, Dogs Trust receive unwanted puppies that need to be re-homed. This comes at a significant cost to the charity.

This is a good Bill. I hope it is supported and we can show co-operation and collaboration across the floor of the Chamber. I wish the Bill a speedy journey on its way through the Upper House. The sooner it is passed the better, with the wisdom of amendments at the appropriate stages. Let us get it into the Dáil and make this happen.