Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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846. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development for an update on the progression of changes under the Control of Dogs Act 1986; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29769/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department has policy and legislative responsibility for the Control of Dogs Acts and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act.

Government established a working group in early 2023 to examine the current issues surrounding dog control and to make recommendations for improvements in the field. The report of the working group is available on Gov.ie. I am pleased to advise that I have made significant progress in the implementation of the actions assigned to my Department in the working group report.

I recently increased ‘on-the-spot’ fines for offences under the Control of Dogs Act, including trebling the fines for most serious offences from €100 to €300. Multiple fines can be issued where more than one offence occurs.

In addition, I announced the establishment of a high level stakeholder group to consider and make recommendations to strengthen policy in relation these issues. The group is independently chaired by retired Deputy Garda Commissioner Mr John Twomey and is comprised of members with a broad range of expertise.

The group have been tasked with considering the policy and legislative matters under the remit of my Department, specifically the Dog Control Acts and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act.

The group has met twice to date: the most recent meeting took place on the 26th June. The work of the stakeholder group is complex in nature requiring full consideration of all aspects of both pieces of legislation under the remit of my Department and this will take some time. However, in view of recent events, I have asked the Chair to prioritise the issue of Restricted Dogs and this was the first issue to be considered by the stakeholder group at its recent meeting. I expect the group to revert to me with recommendations on the matter as soon as possible once they have considered all the issues arising.

My Department is also supporting a national training programme for dog wardens to ensure consistency and a standardised approach to enforcement. This training commenced in April.

I believe it is important for dog owners to be aware of their responsibilities - not just to the general public but also to their dogs. For this reason, I launched a major national awareness campaign to alert dog owners to their responsibilities and to raise awareness of the dangers that can be posed to people and to livestock by uncontrolled dogs.

Finally, in addition to these measures, I also announced the establishment of a €2 million fund under a new Dog Control Support Initiative. This funding comes as a direct response to increased pressures on dog control services and will make immediate and tangible improvements to the dog control service across the country.

I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues across Government to improve outcomes in relation to Dog Control in Ireland.