Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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515. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of dog breeding establishments; the licensing and inspection regimes in place under legislation for these dog breeders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39218/15]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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516. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of dogs bred in the years 2012 to 2015 to date; the existing rules for licensing and microchipping pups bred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39219/15]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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518. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to improve resources; and to introduce further legislation, to invigilate and regulate the dog-breeding business, given the suffering of abandoned animals, and the cost to local authorities and dog rescue agencies in protecting and rehoming these animals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39222/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 515, 516 and 518 together.

The regulation of dog breeding establishments is a matter for local authorities in accordance with the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010.

Section 9 of the Act requires each local authority to establish and maintain a register of dog breeding establishments situated in their respective functional areas and persons intending to operate such establishments must apply to their relevant local authority for inclusion in the register. If successful, the applicant will be awarded a “registration certificate” confirming registration.

Under the Control of Dogs Act 1986, all persons in possession of a dog are required to have a dog licence. Regulations concerning the micro-chipping of dogs were introduced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on 1 June 2015 and provide for the roll-out of a micro-chipping programme on a phased basis, beginning with pups in September 2015, and all dogs from March 2016. The Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 also requires that all dogskept at such establishments that are over 8 weeks old , or on leaving the establishment, must be micro-chipped.

Guidelines on welfare standards for dog breeding establishments are available on my Department's website , at the following link:. Local authorities are responsible for monitoring compliance with these standards and are empowered to issue improvement notices where appropriate. A local authority may also issue a closure notice if a serious and immediate threat exists to public health or animal health and welfare.

A joint inspection regime of dog breeding establishments, involving officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Local Authority Veterinary Service was inaugurated earlier this year. Inspections are ongoing and necessary follow up action is taken as appropriate. The discovery of individual problematic dog breeding establishments, and the taking of action by the Gardaí, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and local authorities in an integrated manner in the most serious cases, would suggest the legislation is effective and I have no plans to introduce further legislation in relation to this matter.

Certain statistics concerning local authority dog control functions, including the number of dog breeding establishments registered since 2012, are available on my Department’s website at the following link:.

Information on the number of dogs bred in the years 2012 to date is not held by my Department. More detailed information in respect of local authority dog control functions may be obtained directly from the relevant local authorities.