Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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2590. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development to detail the actions his Department undertakes in order to implement the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19155/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has overall policy responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. The Act provides a robust regulatory framework for 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.

The day to day regulation of dog breeding establishments to ensure compliance with the Act is a matter for local authorities. It is the responsibility of each local authority to maintain the register of dog breeding establishments in its functional area. The Act also places an obligation on any person seeking to operate a dog breeding establishment to have the premises included on the register. Welfare standards regarding dog breeding establishments have been provided for through guidelines.

Following a public consultation, revised guidelines for dog breeding establishments were published in July 2018 and came into effect on 1 January 2019. There is a substantial shift in the guidelines towards a focus on the welfare of dogs and pups. Each local authority is responsible for the monitoring of these standards with regard to the registration of such establishments.

The Programme for Government sets out how the Government intends to provide for an enhanced approach to dog control issues. In this regard, all legislation and policy in relation to the Control of Dogs, Dog Welfare and Dog Breeding Establishments will rest with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Discussions are currently ongoing between my Department and that Department to implement this Transfer of Functions in a timely manner.

In the meantime, I am fully committed to progressing the work in this area.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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2591. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development whether his Department maintains a register of all veterinary inspectors and dog wardens hired by local authorities in order to carry out functions under the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010; if so, to provide detail of the number of each role employed under each local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19156/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has policy responsibility for the Control of Dogs Act and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. Local authorities, through the Dog Warden service, have responsibility for all operational matters under the Control of Dogs Acts including enforcement, and are also responsible for all operational activities such as the registration, inspection and regulation of Dog Breeding Establishments, including enforcement activities related to same.

My Department does not maintain a register of all veterinary inspectors and dog wardens hired by local authorities to carry out functions under the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. Section 15 of the Control of Dogs Act stipulates that a local authority must employ at least one dog warden.

Each year my officials collect and collate statistics from local authorities in relation to dog control services. These statistics include, but are not limited to, the number of dogs entering and exiting pounds; the number that are re-homed and reclaimed and the number of dog wardens employed by local authorities.

Statistics relating to dog control since 2010 are published and available on www.gov.ie/en/collection/879d4c-dog-control-statistics/.

The 2024 dog control statistics, including statistics on the number of dog wardens have been requested from all local authorities by my officials. Once checked and verified, they will be published on www.gov.ie.

The latest available statistics (from 2023) for the number of Dog Wardens employed by each local authority are as follows:

The Programme for Government sets out how the Government intends to provide for an enhanced approach to dog control issues. In this regard, all legislation and policy in relation to the Control of Dogs, Dog Welfare and Dog Breeding Establishments will rest with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Discussions are currently ongoing between my Department and that Department to implement this Transfer of Functions in a timely manner.

In the meantime, I am fully committed to progressing the work in this area.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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2592. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development whether his attention has been drawn to the disparity among local authorities in regard to their regulation of dog breeding practices, such as a disparity in requirements for registering on a dog breeding establishment register, regular inspections by a county vet, and planning permission for dog breeding establishments; whether his Department has issued local authorities with guidance in regard to regulating dog breeding establishments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19157/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has overall policy responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. The Act provides a robust regulatory framework for 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.

The day to day regulation of dog breeding establishments to ensure compliance with the Act is a matter for local authorities. It is the responsibility of each local authority to maintain the register of dog breeding establishments in its functional area. The Act also places an obligation on any person seeking to operate a dog breeding establishment to have the premises included on the register. Welfare standards regarding dog breeding establishments have been provided for through guidelines.

Following a public consultation, revised guidelines for dog breeding establishments were published in July 2018 and came into effect on 1 January 2019. There is a substantial shift in the guidelines towards a focus on the welfare of dogs and pups. Each local authority is responsible for the monitoring of these standards with regard to the registration of such establishments.

Separately, the enforcement of animal welfare standards for all animals, including dogs in dog breeding establishments, is a matter for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the Animal Health and Welfare Acts.

The Programme for Government sets out how the Government intends to provide for an enhanced approach to dog control issues. In this regard, all legislation and policy in relation to the Control of Dogs, Dog Welfare and Dog Breeding Establishments will rest with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Discussions are currently ongoing between my Department and that Department to implement this Transfer of Functions in a timely manner.

In the meantime, I am fully committed to progressing the work in this area.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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2593. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development whether his Department maintains a register of all dog breeding establishments in the country; and, if so, to provide a list of all establishments, by county, in tabular form. [19158/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Dog Breeding Establishment National Register, containing information for 2024, is available on my Department’s dog control page on gov.ie at the following link: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/dog-breeding-establishment-national-register-2024.pdf

My officials are in the process of requesting updates for the database from all local authorities for 2025. Once all returns are received, collated and analysed, they will be published on gov.ie.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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2594. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if his Department maintains a register of county vet inspections to dog breeding establishments; if so, to provide the number of visits per establishment conducted in 2024, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19159/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has policy responsibility for the Control of Dogs Act and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010.

Under the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010, local authorities are responsible for all operational activities such as the registration, inspection and regulation of Dog Breeding Establishments, including enforcement activities.

My Department has no role in regard to veterinary inspections of Dog Breeding Establishments. The Deputy should contact the relevant local authority to obtain specific information in relation to inspections conducted.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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2595. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development to provide a list of all local authorities that operate a register in accordance with the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010; and to detail the work conducted by his Department to ensure that local authorities are monitoring all dog breeding establishments. [19160/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has overall policy responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. The Act provides a robust regulatory framework for 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.

Following a public consultation, revised guidelines for dog breeding establishments were published in July 2018 and came into effect on 1 January 2019. There is a substantial shift in the guidelines towards a focus on the welfare of dogs and pups. Each local authority is responsible for the monitoring of these standards with regard to the registration of such establishments.

The day to day regulation of dog breeding establishments to ensure compliance with the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 is a matter for local authorities. It is the responsibility of each local authority to maintain the register of dog breeding establishments in its functional area. The Act also places an obligation on any person seeking to operate a dog breeding establishment to have the premises included on the register. Welfare standards regarding dog breeding establishments have been provided for through the revised guidelines for dog breeding establishments.

The Dog Breeding Establishment National Register, containing information for 2024, is available on my Department’s dog control page on gov.ie at the following link: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/dog-breeding-establishment-national-register-2024.pdf

My officials are in the process of requesting updates for the database from all local authorities for 2025. Once all returns are received, collated and analysed, they will be published on gov.ie.