John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

279. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if Wicklow County Council has an obligation to put the Wicklow dog pound contract with ISPCA out to tender; the standards and protocols that apply to the operation of the dog pound system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34413/16]

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

Under the Control of Dogs Acts, local authorities have responsibility for operating and managing dog control and licensing services in their administrative areas, including the management of dog pounds or shelters and my Department has no involvement in this process. In this regard, section 15(2) of the 1986 Act empowers local authorities to enter into arrangements with any person for the provision and maintenance of dog pounds or shelters and for the exercise by any such persons of the functions of the local authority under the Act in respect of the acceptance, detention, disposal and destruction of stray or unwanted dogs.

Furthermore, section 15(3) of the 1986 Act empowers local authorities to enter into arrangements with any other local authority, or with the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA), or with a person connected with animal welfare, for the exercise of all or any of its functions, other than its functions under section 17 or of this Act.

The procurement of any service in that regard, therefore, is a matter for each local authority and the management and operation of such pounds or shelters are matters solely for the relevant local authority.

Moreover, the enforcement of welfare standards regarding all animals, including the welfare of dogs in pounds or shelters, is a matter for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, and one in which my Department has no direct role.