Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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408. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the recent raid on a puppy farm in Myshal, County Carlow, which saw around 350 dogs removed, if data on puppy farms and dog breeding establishments are collated on a central database; the number of puppy farms registered here; the total overall capacity of breeding bitches; and if all puppy farms have been inspected annually. [16464/15]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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410. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a complete list of the names and addresses of all of Ireland's registered puppy farms, as well as the related numbers of breeding bitches and puppies; and if, in view of the animal cruelty involved, he will consider banning puppy farming in the Republic. [16927/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 408 and 410 together.

The regulation of each dog breeding establishment is a matter for the local authority in whose functional area the establishment is located.

The local authority must maintain for public inspection a register of dog breeding establishments in its functional area, which must include the name and address of the applicant seeking entry onto the register, the address of the dog breeding establishment and the maximum number of breeding bitches that may be kept at the dog breeding establishment or premises. There is no requirement to provide information on the number of puppies.

Data provided by local authorities in relation to certain of their dog control functions, including the number of dog breeding establishments registered by them since 2012, is available on my Department’s website at . I have no information on the frequency of inspections of dog breeding establishments by local authorities.

Guidelines on welfare standards for dog breeding establishments, issued by my Department on commencement of the Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010, are available on my Department’s website at . Local authorities may appoint authorised persons to, inter alia, inspect premises to monitor these standards, and in the case of significant deviation from the standards provided for in the Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010, to issue an improvement notice. In the event that a serious and immediate threat exists to public health or animal health and welfare, a closure notice may be issued by the local authority. Operators of dog breeding establishments may appeal an improvement or closure notice to the District Court. I have no plans to ban the operation of dog breeding establishments.

More generally, the enforcement of welfare standards regarding all animals is a matter for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.