Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister on his new position. It is well deserved. Last year, the Fine Gael Minister in the previous Government spent €400,000 on a campaign to highlight the need for dog owners to be responsible dog owners. A few months later, the Minister was banning XL bullies and targeting specific dogs, rather than targeting behaviour, and letting irresponsible owners off the hook. This was populist and it was also extremely unfair to dogs. The Government said it wanted to keep the law in unison with a similar law north of the Border. However, it did not copy the process that exists north of the Border but cherry-picked elements of the process. This meant the XL bully ban here in the Twenty-six Counties has no appeals process. It is deeply unfair. Without an appeals process, dogs have been killed on the word of a dog warden, who has no expertise in determining whether a dog is an XL bully.

The Government's record on dog welfare is lamentable. The Government's attitude towards animal welfare is lamentable. Look at the poor horse that died of starvation in a field in Limerick or the horse running down O'Connell Street. We are the puppy farm capital of Europe. Back-street dog breeders do what they want. Wardens are mostly afraid to tackle the back-street breeders. The Government needs first to implement the laws we have on dog welfare and then create a safe environment for dogs in Ireland. On the bully ban, there is no appeals process and this is simply unfair on both dogs and owners. If we are going to implement a ban and, as a result, kill many dogs, we need to have at least an appeals process.

Six dog welfare rescue groups are taking a judicial review and challenging the lack of an appeals process. I acknowledge the six groups that took the case: Working Animal Guardians, WAG, Dog Angels Ireland, My Lovely Horse Rescue, Wicklow Animal Welfare, Clare Animal Welfare and the Haven. It is notable that none of the big dog welfare groups joined this judicial review. They took the case and I understand that, in court on Tuesday, there was an agreement by the Government's legal team to have an appeals process. There is no point in having an appeals process unless it actually works and is fair, and leads to dogs being treated better. Working Animals Guardians does unbelievable work. It achieved charity status last year. It has said that, in any appeals process, there must be a qualified, independent dog identification expert. Dog wardens would not be the determiners of dog breeds. All costs should be incurred by the State and the burden of proof should be on the State, regardless of appeal outcome. WAG also states that the dog should remain in the home and dogs should not be confiscated or impounded during the appeals process. There should be a certificate of exemption issued after the independent appeal if a dog is classified as an XL bully. On protection of dogs in pounds and rescues, WAG emphasises it is important that dogs in pounds and rescues are afforded the same rights as privately owned dogs and that a dog classified as an XL bully can be rehomed through a registered charity and obtain a certificate of exemption.

The Government has not published any evidence to show that the ban will achieve its aim of enhancing public safety. It has simply decided to target bully breeds rather than targeting the owners and the behaviour of the dogs. It is populist in the extreme. What will the appeals process look like?