Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I concur with what Senator O'Loughlin had to say about the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. It does very important work and I look forward to supporting it this morning and at other times. Its work is to be greatly commended.

On 7 May, the Minister for agriculture announced his decision to ban the use on dogs and cats of so-called electronic shock collars operated by handheld remote controls. I have said previously that use of the term "shock" is somewhat propagandistic. I note that the banning of perimeter fencing is not being proposed and this involves the same level of minor shock, impulse or stimulus as is used in the case of these training devices. It is approximately 5 mJ. When I raised this matter in January, I expressed the concerns of dog owners who know how vital these devices are to stop their dogs getting shot by farmers. This is what is at stake. Where these devices have been banned, there has been an increase in the number of attacks on sheep and an increase in the subsequent number of shootings of dogs. At the time I was disappointed that the Department of agriculture had failed to explain the case for wanting a ban, and it also seemed to be hiding the consultation announcement on its website.To his credit, when I asked the Minister for agriculture, Deputy McConalogue, to extend the time for consultation, he did so. I also said that whatever the consultation showed, the Department should ensure that it collates all the scientific evidence. The Minister said he wanted to get people's views in and he would provide the space and time for that to happen.

With the help of the media, I understand that a lot of responses were received from farmers and dog owners pointing to the science that appears to show that e-collars are the only proven way of deterring dogs from attacking livestock. While I note that the Minister has announced the ban will go ahead, he should have first published the results of the consultation. If he has arrived at a decision, is he going to publish the scientific case for going ahead with this ban? The Government must do its job but it should show the results of such consultation. We saw a similar situation arise with the referendums, where there was a failure to show the result of a public consultation before people went to the polls. We then discovered afterwards that the public were significantly against the referendum proposals or there was certainly no demand for those referendums. In the same way, the Government should show that it is taking on board the feedback it is getting from its consultation. Perhaps even more importantly, it should publish its scientific case instead of just announcing an intention to go ahead with the ban. I would not like to think the consultation was bogus or just done for show. People deserve to see the evidence and I am asking when the consultation report will be published.

I note finally a small increase in the numbers of hate crimes and hate-related non-crime incidents reported by An Garda Síochána. I think the hate-related non-crime incidents have gone up from 72 in 2022 to 103. Hate speech and hate-related incidents are always to be deplored. We must use our education system and work against them as a society. When it comes to crime, though, we must focus on where the real harm is, namely, the 12% increase in thefts and related offences.