John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

113. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views regarding the issues raised by Canine Breeders Ireland at a meeting that he attended; if his Department can provide the number of registered breeding establishments and dog breeders' premises inspected each year; if he can confirm the number of pups exported to the United Kingdom each week; his plans to request a derogation from the European Union directive that prevents the export of pups to the United Kingdom until the age of 15 weeks; and if he or his Department have been lobbied in this regard; if he will further confirm the number of court cases taken against dog breeders; if his Department retains a record of these cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33789/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Legislation on dog breeding establishments comes under the aegis of the Minister for the Environment and enforcement action, including prosecution, is normally undertaken by that Department. My Department has no pending court cases against dog breeders. There are 68 dog registered breeding establishments in Ireland, 58 of which were inspected jointly by my Department and local authorities during 2015. On average 200 dogs have been exported to the United Kingdom per week since the beginning of 2015.

With regard to pets, in accordance with EU law, all pets entering and leaving Ireland must have a valid rabies vaccination evidenced by a pet passport or a veterinary health certificate. The special derogation from a rabies vaccination that was in place in respect of movement of pets between Ireland and the United Kingdom expired on 1 January 2012 and the rabies rules on pet movement within the EU are applied uniformly across the EU.

With effect from 29 December 2014, when Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council came into operation, dogs must be a minimum of 12 weeks old before a rabies vaccine can be administered. The immunity takes effect 21 days after vaccination, which means that, in fact, pups must be a minimum of 15 weeks of age before they are eligible to travel between Member States of the EU. This new minimum age requirement is based on the veterinary and scientific advice that an animal less than 3 months old may be too young to effectively vaccinate against rabies.