asked the Minister for Agriculture when is it envisaged that his Department will bring the necessary legislation before the House on the control of wandering dogs; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
7.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dog Control.
6.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will make a statement on the workings of the interdepartmental committee on dog control.
8.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture when he intends to introduce legislation on dog control
I propose to take Question Nos. 6 to 8, inclusive, together.
In 1983 an interdepartmental committee were established to examine all aspects of the problem of dog control and to make recommendations. This committee comprised of representatives from the five Government Departments with an involvement in dog control — the Departments of Agriculture, Finance, Environment, Health and Justice. The Government have recently considered the committee's report and have approved their recommendations. In brief these are that: (i) statutory responsibility for dog control be entrusted to local authorities; (ii) receipts £5 per dog, from the dog licence fee be made available to the local authorities to finance their dog control functions, (iii) the responsibilities of dog owners be updated, with appropriately higher penalties fixed for breaches of the law, and (iv) the existing provisions relating to shooting of dogs found worrying livestock on farms be strengthened.
I have been charged with the preparation of legislation to give effect to these recommendations and my aim is to introduce this legislation at the earliest possible date.
We welcome the news the Minister has given us of the decision being taken by the Government but when does he envisage having the legislation ready to come before the House? This is most important to ensure that we will not have a decline in sheep numbers in the coming year.
I have been personally involved in this area since 1973. My view is that this legislation is urgently needed and if I had my way it would be before the House as soon as possible, but I am not the person who has to make the final decision on this. First the Minister has to prepare the legislation and then it goes to the Office of the Attorney General. With a lot of goodwill we could look forward having this legislation in the fall, in other words, hopefully before next year's lambing season.
We will not have it before 20 June?
No.
(Limerick West): Did the Minister say that legislation is in the course of preparation?
I said a decision has been taken by the Government to introduce this legislation and we will prepare it as quickly as possible. It is envisaged that it will be totally in the hands of county managers and county councils. That type of devolution would be very useful because our Department would find it difficult to get involved in areas like Dublin city where dogs create many problems by fouling footpaths and so on. It is obviously a job for the city and county authorities who will collect the fees, appoint dog wardens, erect pounds and have good liaison with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
(Limerick West): Can the Minister assure the House that we will have this legislation early in 1986?
I certainly hope so but, as I pointed out a previous Question Time, we very often run into legal problems which take time to unravel.
(Limerick West): In the forthcoming legislation, will all matters pertaining to dogs come under the Department of the Environment? Will the five Departments to which the Minister just referred no longer have a function?
Our Department will have a function in that the legislation will be prepared by the Minister for Agriculture——
(Limerick West): I mean when the legislation is enacted——
I hope that it will then be a matter for the local authorities.
When the legislation is enacted, will dog wardens be appointed in each county and will they have power to collect licence fees?
Yes, that is the way it will be. They will also have the more difficult task of rounding up stray dogs. In that connection, most of the problems are caused by people who purchase dogs as pets at Christmas but when they grow up to be big, awkward animals they stray them.
Have the Government given consideration to the net benefit, in financial terms, of the proposal? Does the Minister consider that the administrative costs might be a drawback?
Sin scéal eile. The amount of licensing fees paid at present is laughable and the dog warden will have adequate funds to do his job properly.