Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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734. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will list all reviews of Acts carried out by her Department in line with the provisions of the Act in question from 2000 to date; if a summary will be provided of any substantive amendments of the Act in question that occurred on foot of each review and the amending legislation, if any, in each case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21190/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department has legislative responsibility in respect of the Charities Acts, as well as for the area of Dog Control and Dog Breeding Establishments in Ireland respectively.

In relation to charity legislation, I published the General Scheme of the Charities (Amendment) Bill on 29 April 2022. This General Scheme was subsequently submitted to the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands for Pre-Legislative scrutiny.

This Bill is to provide for a number of amendments to the Charities Act 2009. The aim of the proposed amendments is to improve the ability of the Charities Regulator to conduct its statutory functions, providing greater transparency, clarity and fairness in terms of the regulation of charities, leading to greater public trust and confidence in the sector. It is important that we strike the right balance between necessary regulation and proportionate governance, ensuring that a reasonable and fair approach is at its core.

Further to the publication of the Joint Committee’s Report on the Pre-Legislative scrutiny of the General Schemein November 2022, my officials are currently working with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to finalise the draft Heads of Bill, which will then be presented to Government for approval.

I look forward to working with members of both Houses of the Oireachtas to enable the passage and enactment of this Bill as expeditiously as possible.

Regarding the area of Dog Control and Dog Breeding Establishments respectively, in July 2019, my Department published a consultation paper to inform a review of the current legislation in relation to Dog Control. Over 1,000 responses were received and a report on this public consultation was published in April 2022. The report drew a number of conclusions and identified areas that required further review and consideration.

In late 2022, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was tasked with leading a cross-government review of legislation regarding dogs. Minister McConalogue and I held a meeting in early January and asked officials to convene a working group on the issue. The terms of reference of the group are published on www.gov.ie.

The working group examined issues related to dog control and made a number of recommendations for action which would require amendments to both the Dog Breeding Establishments Act, and to the Control of Dogs Acts. These recommendations are currently being considered. The report of the group is available on www.gov.ie. I look forward to engaging with stakeholders as we progress this important work