Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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502. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number of fines issued under the Control of Dogs Acts in each of the years 2020 to 2024, by local authority. [49754/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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503. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the average fine currently applied for breaches of dog control regulations; if he considers this level of sanction to be an adequate deterrent and if he has plans to increase fine levels. [49755/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 502 and 503 together.

On 1 June 2025, all policy and legislative responsibility for the Control of Dogs Acts transferred to my Department from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (DRCDG). It must be noted that local authorities retain responsibility for all operational, implementation and enforcement matters under the Acts.

Statutory Instrument 540 of 2023 lays out a range of different fines that can be levied against offences committed under the Control of Dogs Acts. That S.I. increased ‘on-the-spot’ fines for offences under the Control of Dogs Acts, including trebling the fines for most serious offences from €100 to €300. Multiple fines can be issued where more than one offence occurs.

In March 2024, the then Minister for Rural and Community Development established the Dog Control stakeholder group to review the Control of Dogs Acts and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act. The stakeholder group's remit includes considering the need for legislative change. In that context of potential legislative change, issues that the Stakeholder Group may consider includes the matter of further increases in fine levels. I look forward to the group completing their work and I will consider their recommendations upon presentation to me of their report.

My Department publishes annual statistics in respect of a range of the dog control responsibilities of local authorities. Information up to and including 2023 is available on the dog control statistics page on gov.ie: (www.gov.ie/en/collection/879d4c-dog-control-statistics/). The 2024 dog control statistics will be published on gov.ie shortly.

The statistics in relation to the number of fines issued under the Control of Dogs Acts in each of the years 2020 to 2024, by local authority, are as follows:

Fines Issued by Year