Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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356. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of puppy farms and their locations that were inspected, closed down and subsequently re-inspected in the years 2013 to 2015, inclusive, and to date in 2016, in tabular form; his plans to address the horrors that were exposed in a recent investigation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13378/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I assume the question refers to the so-called 'puppy farm' in County Cavan, recently referred to on a British Broadcasting Corporation Panorama investigation programme.

The regulation of dog breeding establishments is a matter for local authorities in accordance with the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 and I understand that Cavan County Council is dealing with the matter referred to in the Question.

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. Data collected by local authorities in relation to certain of their dog control functions, including the number of dog breeding establishments registered by them since 2012, are available on my Department’s website at: .

Statistical information of new and repeat inspections and closures carried out on Dog Breeding establishments during 2013 and 2014 is set out in Tables 1 and 2 below. The 2015 statistics are currently being finalised and will be available on my Departments website shortly. The process of collating and validating annual stats in respect of 2016 by the Department will not commence until 2017.

The Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010 provides a robust regulatory framework for, inter alia, the licensing, monitoring and inspection of dog breeding establishments by local authorities and, where a serious and immediate threat exists to public health or animal health and welfare, for the closure of such establishments.

A joint inspection regime of dog breeding establishments, involving the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Local Authority Veterinary Service, was inaugurated last year and has inspected the majority of establishments 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, is a matter for law enforcement. That said, a working group is currently examining the legislation to determine if amendments are required.

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.

Table 1

Table 2