Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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35. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on concerns that many people are advertising their services as dog trainers with no certification or qualification in the handling and training of dogs, and in many cases are paying no taxation, as they are not licensed; his plans to regulate specifically for dog training schools, and for persons who are profiting from dog owners with no regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41388/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Persons sourcing or seeking to have dogs trained as Assistance Dogs should ensure that their supplier is accredited to an International standards body such as Assistance Dogs International or the International Guide Dog Federation. Both these organisations set excellent professional standards by which training programmes are evaluated and accredited, taking account of, among other things, fair and ethical treatment of clients, criteria for matching dogs and clients and humane training methods and health care for the dogs as well as compliance with all legal requirements.

In view of the above, the question of legislating for compulsory accreditation of service dogs training schools does not arise at this time. It should also be noted that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has the mandate to enforce competition and consumer protection law in order to protect consumers from harmful business practices.