Question:
204 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will exempt pensioners from paying the dog licence to encourage dog ownership by older people. [12778/01]
Written Answers - Dog Licences.
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.