Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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929. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of thefts of companion pets reported to An Garda Síochána in each of the past three years and to-date in 2025. [48869/25]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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930. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to create a stand-alone offence to deal with the theft of companion pets; his plans to create new laws to consider the theft of a companion pet an aggravating factor in sentencing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48870/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 929 and 930 together.

Pet theft is an incredibly cruel crime which causes huge trauma for pet owners all over the country. I fully appreciate the strong emotional attachment we all have to our pets and that theft not only leads to their loss in our lives, but also a high level of concern for their welfare. It is also a crime which often affects, and is indeed often targeted against, older and particularly vulnerable people, for whom their pet is of huge emotional importance.

It is important to emphasise that theft offences already apply to this crime, and can carry very heavy penalties. The Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment in the case of offences of theft and handling of stolen property; while a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment is provided for the offence of possession of stolen property.

When imposing sentence, judges are not limited to considering the monetary value of a pet – the emotional distress to the victim caused by the offence is absolutely relevant and can be, and is, taken into account where appropriate.

From an enforcement perspective, An Garda Síochána takes this issue very seriously and has conducted several important actions against those responsible. Gardaí have also disseminated information through the national Crime Prevention Officer Network regarding keeping animals secure and preventing these forms of theft. The Garda National Crime Prevention Unit's advice on pet safety, which is in line with the advice from animal welfare groups and animal insurance companies about keeping animals safe, can be viewed on the Garda website.

www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/office-of-corporate-communications/news-media/news-archive/dog-theft-crime-prevention-advice.html

The Government is very conscious of the special place that pets hold in people’s lives, as companions and as a comfort to many. I want to assure you that the Government and An Garda Síochána are dedicated to preventing the theft of companion animals through a range of measures, including microchipping and awareness campaigns.

The Working Group on Control of Dogs, under the Department of Rural and Community Development, also recommended a number of measures to improve dog traceability and welfare, including amending legislation on dog microchipping to create a single centralised national database for dog microchip registration data. This legislation is under the remit of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The below information, provided to me by the Garda authorities, outlines the number of dogs reported stolen to An Garda Síochána by year.

While the Garda Síochána Analysis Service (GSAS) have a structured object type available in PULSE for ‘dogs’, there is no equivalent for other family pets, therefore, GSAS cannot say these are ‘family pets’ but instead represent a count of all dogs stolen in any circumstance from any location.