Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 1 Feb 2000

Vol. 513 No. 3

Written Answers. - Dog Licences.

Noel Ahern

Question:

224 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the reason for his decision to increase the cost of a dog licence by 100%; if he will offer a reduction or waive the charge for old age pensioners who keep a dog for security or company reasons; his views on whether it is fair to penalise law abiding dog owners rather than the offenders who leave unlicensed dogs to roam free; and if he will consider the matter or at least allow pensioners who have more than one dog to require only one licence. [2397/00]

Minister for the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Dempsey)

The current licence fees for dogs are provided for in the Control of Dogs (Amendment) Act, 1992, which came into operation on 1 February 1999.

The question of introducing a scheme whereby certain categories of dog owners could obtain a dog licence at a reduced rate has been examined. While it is recognised that a dog can provide both a sense of security and companionship to many elderly people and to people living alone, it would not, unfortunately, be feasible to introduce such a scheme without incurring substantial administrative costs and a loss of revenue to the local authorities, who rely on the revenue from the sale of dog licences to finance their dog control activities. At a practical level also, such a scheme would give rise to difficulties for local authorities in attempting to establish the true ownership of a dog which was covered by a reduced fee licence but which was being kept by a person who was not eligible for such a licence. Similar difficulties are likely to arise with a scheme to allow pensioners with more than one dog to have only one licence.