Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 274: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his reason for recently referring statutes governing animal welfare, that is, the Protection of Animals Acts 1911 and 1965, including proposals for amendments, to the Minister for Agriculture and Food when his Department advised that the recommendations of the working group on the management of dog breeding establishments can be legally implemented through amendments of the current Control of Dogs Act. [12330/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The principal statutes governing animal welfare are the Protection of Animals Acts 1911 and 1965. Responsibility for that legislation, including any proposals for amendment, is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Agriculture and Food.

My Department's functions relate to the provisions of the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 and 1992. The main focus of these Acts is the control of stray and dangerous dogs, such as guard dogs, which could present nuisance or danger to the general public or to other animals. The implementation of the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 and 1992 is vested in local authorities which have power, inter alia, to appoint dog wardens, to provide shelters for stray and other dogs, to impose on-the-spot fines for a number of offences and to take prosecutions.

Section 19 of the Control of Dogs Act 1986, as amended by section 8 of the 1992 Act, provides for the making of regulations to specify standards for premises in which a guard dog or more than five dogs aged over four months are kept. It is in this context that my Department is considering the recommendations of the working group established to review the management of dog breeding establishments and the responses received as a result of the recent public consultation process.