Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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2195. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for the absence of figures for the number of euthanisations carried out at a dog pounds (details supplied), from February 2025 to date; and whether there is there a legal obligation to publish euthanisation numbers. [42028/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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My Department has overall policy responsibility for the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 to 2014. Local Authorities have responsibility for all operational matters under the Control of Dogs Acts including enforcement.

Each year statistics are collected and collated 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 that are euthanised for the previous calendar year. The 2024 dog control statistics have been requested from local authorities and will be published on gov.ie once available. The 2025 dog control statistics will not be available until next year.

Statistics relating to dog control since 2010, including the Report for 2023, are available on .

While there is no legal obligation in the Control of Dogs Act to publish statistics, I very much appreciate all the work of Local Authorities in collating and making statistics available. These statistics form the evidence base needed for better policy making and I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with them in improving national policy.