Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 May 2017
10. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the position regarding the dog breeding establishment guideline review; if he is satisfied that a proactive approach is being taken with regard to protecting animals in dog breeding establishments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24982/17]
View answerI do not understand why this question has not been grouped with Question No. 56 from my colleague, Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan. She has spearheaded this issue for a long time. The question is about the status of the dog breeding establishment guideline review. We tabled the question because the legislation that is currently in place is not effective. The enforcement of those regulations, poor and all as they are, is practically non-existent and there is a big concern that the review will not be completed as there are media reports to that effect. Many very good submissions have come in from the public. We want to know where regulation is at in this very important area.
I thank the Deputy for her question. I am not sure why it was not grouped with Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan's question. I do not know if that is up to us or somebody else. I will check that. I have acknowledged Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan's work in this area on many occasions. I have had some debates with her here on it as well. I appreciate Deputy Daly mentioning that and recognise the work of Deputy MaureenO'Sullivan.
The Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010 provides a robust regulatory framework for, inter alia, the licensing, monitoring and inspection of dog breeding establishments by local authorities and, where a serious and immediate threat exists to public health or animal health and welfare, for the closure of such establishments. More generally, the enforcement of welfare standards regarding all animals is a matter for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. A joint inspection regime of dog breeding establishments, involving the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the local authority veterinary service, was inaugurated in 2015 for the purpose of inspection and follow-up action.
My Department is in the process of reviewing the current dog breeding establishment guidelines, in collaboration with the County and City Management Association's dogs working group. Following the production of a first draft revision of the guidelines, it was considered important to broaden the review of the guidelines to a more formal public consultation, both for quality assurance and to address the need for openness and inclusiveness. A wide-scale formal public consultative process commenced on 1 December 2016 and closed on 28 February 2017. My Department is currently reviewing the feedback and data received through the process. I expect the findings to be submitted to me in June 2017, which I will consider carefully and without delay.
I can commit that the review will be completed. I can guarantee that much from my end. It is a matter in which I have an interest, mainly because of Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan, who brought it to my attention. We will try to complete the review as quickly as we can in the Department. I understand that the overall process has gone on for over 18 months at this stage and would be happy to bring it to an end. I hope to do so in the months ahead.
There will be some comfort taken from the fact that the review has not been shelved. That was a genuine concern. It is precisely because there is not a robust regulatory regime in existence that the review of the guidelines is imminently necessary. There are 73 registered puppy farms in Ireland with at least 30,000 dogs being produced every year. That is 410 dogs per misnamed puppy farm - these are not farms but industrial scale dog breeding establishments.
The comparative figure in Britain is approximately 78 per farm. This is a seriously profitable concern. Many illegal farms exist too. Welfare organisations have said that some farms have more than 500 breeding dogs. The DSPCA maintains that the number should be limited to ten or fewer.
We have been identified as Europe's puppy farm capital. This is certainly something we do not want. Last August, the BBC broadcast a documentary that exposed the puppy farm industry, especially in Cavan. It highlighted the lack of enforcement by Cavan County Council. It is important that the review be completed and our standards updated because they are certainly not fit for purpose at present.
Again, I wish to confirm that the review will happen. I agree with Deputy Clare Daly for all the reasons she outlined. Often, there is confusion between the Departments with regard to which Department is in control. In the case of this review our Department is leading it. I can certainly commit to it as part of my work in the coming months as well.
The report is not on my desk yet. It will be there soon. I have no problem in that sense. We can discuss it in this House at that stage if needs be.
The idea behind public consultation is to broaden the conversation around this area. There is considerable interest in this among the public. Several Departments are represented on the working group. It is vital that we have a public consultation aspect to it as well. It delayed the process a little, but that was no harm. The public need to be aware of these matters and they need to be part of the conversation. I hope we will not have any more delays. When the report comes on my desk, I will have no problem discussing it further with a view to making the necessary changes.
The Minister of State has said this is a priority for him. I believe that and I am glad of it. Many good submissions were made by the public. It would be completely wrong if we were not to take them into account. The reason they were made is that the current system is not fit for purpose. In particular there needs to be a proactive approach in respect of issues such as the use of portable kennels, third-party sales, a ban on selling puppies under eight weeks of age, adequate licence fees, the black market and illegal selling of puppies.
The area of enforcement, or rather the lack of enforcement, is critical. A glaring inconsistency has been highlighted across different local authority areas. This has caused extensive problems in terms of the welfare of animals. Ireland's reputation has been already damaged because of the export of greyhounds to China. We are developing a disreputable international name and we need to correct that urgently. It is important not only that the guidelines are updated but that the enforcement mechanism is substantially beefed-up as well.
I am glad to commit to that as well. I have not read all the submissions but I will do that as part of the process of the report coming to my desk. I always read submissions and I try to ensure we take them all on board inasmuch as we possibly can. There is no reason we cannot have a discussion in the House and at committee level as well to tease through that.
I agree with Deputy Daly. It does not get media coverage often but it is certainly an important area and it is damaging our reputation. It has probably become more of a priority. Given other issues in recent years it probably did not get the priority it needed. I am committing to it now. Given that the review is finished, there is no reason to delay acting in this area.
