Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 September 2021
1577. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to issues UK citizens are experiencing when bringing pets here; if there are measures being considered to streamline this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42388/21]
View answerSince January 2021, as a consequence of the UK leaving the EU, there are additional requirements for pet cats, dogs and ferrets entering Ireland from Great Britain.
There are, however, no changes in respect of such pets entering Ireland from Northern Ireland.
Prior to January, cats, dogs and ferrets entering Ireland from the United Kingdom - as from all EU Member States - had to be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies and accompanied by a EU Pet Passport.
Since then, there are additional requirements in respect of each pet travelling, or returning, from Great Britain to Ireland:
- they may only enter Ireland through certain Travellers’ Points of Entry - Dublin Airport, Dublin Port, Rosslare Port, Port of Cork at Ringaskiddy, Shannon Airport and Cork Airport.
- they must travel with either a health certificate issued by a UK official vet, or an EU pet passport. (EU pet passports issued by Northern Ireland remain valid for EU movement if they have been marked with a sticker by the issuing vet in Northern Ireland. An EU pet passport that was issued in GB is not valid for travel to the EU, even it was issued before January 2021).
- Dogs travelling from, or returning from, Great Britain to Ireland require treatment against Echinococcus multilocularis (tapeworm) by a veterinarian 24 to 120 hours (1 to 5 days) before arrival in Ireland.
Since January 2021, the movement of pets between Ireland and Northern Ireland has been covered by the Ireland – Northern Ireland Protocol, which forms part of the broader EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement. Under the Protocol, Northern Ireland is subject to EU Regulation 576/2013 and so is still treated as if it were a Member State for the purposes of this Regulation.
Pet dogs, cats and ferrets travelling from Northern Ireland to Ireland must be microchipped, have a valid rabies vaccination and be accompanied by a valid EU or NI pet passport, or a EU health certificate - as heretofore.
The EU Commission has issued detailed guidance on this topic, as part of their series of Brexit Readiness Notices.
The Department has also issued a guidance document for pet travel after Brexit, and will continue to communicate with pet owners regarding the requirements for entering Ireland. The guidance document can be found here.
