Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 May 2018
15. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 110 of 27 March 2018, the premises the Revenue Commissioners inspected; the findings and outcome regarding breeders that fall outside the scope of the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2011; and the relevant tax paid. [21438/18]
View answerSection 9 of the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 provides that each local authority must maintain a register of dog breeding establishments located in its area of responsibility. The Act also places an obligation on any person seeking to operate a dog breeding establishment to have the premises included on the register. The commencement order for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 was signed by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government on 21 December 2011 and the Act came into force on 1 January 2012. Local Authorities are responsible for the implementation of the Act. As previously advised to the Deputy, Revenue does not have any role to play under the Dog Breeding Establishments Act and is not involved in inspecting relevant establishments to ensure compliance with the legislation.
As regards taxation, the profits of any dog breeding business are liable to tax irrespective of whether it is included on a register of dog breeding establishments or not. The Deputy will be aware from my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 110 of 27 March 2018 that Revenue examined a number of dog breeding establishments as part of its 2017 compliance programme. Revenue has confirmed that most of the businesses involved were found to be tax compliant, with enquiries still ongoing in a small number of cases. However, taxpayer confidentiality provisions contained in section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 precludes Revenue from providing any further information in regard to the cases examined or providing any information that could identify them. The section formalises taxpayer confidentiality and specifically prohibits unauthorised disclosure of taxpayer information.
In addition to administering the tax and duties system, Revenue enforces a range of restrictions and product safety regimes on behalf of other State Agencies at the point of import and export. One such example is the work Revenue does with bodies like the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) and it has achieved some notable successes as part of this joint working initiative. Revenue collaborated closely with DSPCA and other agencies in Operation Delphin, to disrupt the illegal cross-border trade in pups. During 2017, Revenue took custody of 33 pups being transported without pet passports and not microchipped, as required under the Animal Health and Welfare Act, 2013. All were passed to the DSPCA to be cared for.
On 8 May 2018, Revenue officers at Dublin Port took custody of four dogs, including three pups, when they stopped and questioned a UK national, in routine operations. The man was travelling to the UK, and did not have pet passports for the dogs, nor were the pups microchipped as required under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. The dogs were transferred into the care of the DSPCA, where they are receiving veterinary attention.
