Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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281. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in relation to the Control of Dogs Act working group, the stakeholders who were consulted during the process; if scientific evidence has been incorporated; if so, if that evidence will be published; the stage that the review is currently at; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11993/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Minister Heather Humphreys and I held a meeting on Monday 9th January and instructed officials to convene a working group on the control of dogs’ issue. The terms of reference of the group have been agreed and are published on my Department’s website.

The working group on the control of dogs comprises officials from my Department, the Department of Rural and Community Development (DCRD) and representatives of the County and City Managers Association (CCMA), including representatives of local authority dog wardens and local authority veterinary inspectors, and representatives of An Garda Síochána. The group includes three qualified veterinarians.

A public consultation was carried out by DRCD on the subject of dog control in 2021. The results have been published on the DRCD website. The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has also outlined its policy concerns on the subject of dog control and sheep worrying.

It is within the remit of this working group to engage with subject matter experts as appropriate.

This group has now held six meetings and will continue to meet regularly in the coming weeks.

The working group examined issues related to dog control and made recommendations for actions to address this problem. The report of the group has been submitted to myself and Minister Humphreys and we are considering it carefully. I will be bringing a Memorandum to Government shortly on this issue.

The group will continue to meet to coordinate action on these issues across departments and agencies.