Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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2223. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will align Irish laws with those of other European countries and ban surgical insemination of racing greyhounds, as it is with all other types of dog breeds due to the cruel and harmful nature of the practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43612/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) announced in April 2024 that it had updated its Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Practitioners to prohibit veterinarians from carrying out surgical artificial insemination in dogs due to ethical and welfare considerations. However, this new prohibition does not apply to greyhounds, as the practice is provided for in legislation under the Artificial Insemination of Greyhound Regulations 2005.

The report of the Working Group on Control of Dogs, which was approved by Cabinet in March 2023, has been published online at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/0d6d7-working-group-on-control-of-dogs/#report-of-the-working-group-on-the-control-of-dogs

It includes a recommendation that surgical artificial insemination in canines be prohibited, where the word canine encompasses all breeds of dogs, including greyhounds.

In 2024, my Department held a public consultation on whether the practice of carrying out surgical artificial insemination in greyhounds should be banned or not. This public consultation has now closed, and will contribute to the legislative process. The results of the public consultation will be published in due course.

My Department is closely examining this issue and will be providing advice on an appropriate course of action in the near future.

Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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2224. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department monitors the number of greyhounds being surgically artificially inseminated; if he will provide those figures for the past three years, broken down by month, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43613/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) announced in April 2024 that it had updated its Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Practitioners to prohibit veterinarians from carrying out surgical artificial insemination in dogs due to ethical and welfare considerations. However, this new prohibition does not apply to greyhounds, as the practice is provided for in legislation under the Artificial Insemination of Greyhound Regulations 2005.

The report of the Working Group on Control of Dogs, which was approved by Cabinet in March 2023, has been published online at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/0d6d7-working-group-on-control-of-dogs/#report-of-the-working-group-on-the-control-of-dogs

It includes a recommendation that surgical artificial insemination in canines be prohibited, where the word canine encompasses all breeds of dogs, including greyhounds.

In 2024, my Department held a public consultation on whether the practice of carrying out surgical artificial insemination in greyhounds should be banned or not. This public consultation has now closed, and will contribute to the legislative process. The results of the public consultation will be published in due course.

My Department is closely examining this issue and will be providing advice on an appropriate course of action in the near future.

My Department does not hold records regarding the number of greyhounds surgically artificially inseminated in Ireland, however this information can be supplied by the Irish Coursing Club (ICC), who hold these figures on an annual basis.