My Department has overall policy responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. The day to day regulation of dog breeding establishments to ensure compliance with the Act is a matter for local authorities. It is the responsibility of each local authority to maintain the register of dog breeding establishments in its functional area. The Act also places an obligation on any person seeking to operate a dog breeding establishment to have the premises included on the register.
In July 2018, following a public consultation, my Department published revised guidelines for Dog Breeding Establishments. These came into effect on 1 January 2019 following widespread publicity, including using press releases and social media, there was no additional spend. Each local authority is responsible for the monitoring of these standards with regard to the registration of such establishments.
Each year my Department publishes annual statistics on gov.ie in respect of a range of dog control responsibilities of local authorities, including the statistics sought. Information up to and including 2019 is available at the following link https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/879d4c-dog-control-statistics/
Under the Control of Dogs Acts, local authorities are responsible for licensing services in their areas and my Department is not involved in this operational activity.
It is a legal requirement for all dog owners to have a dog licence. In 2018, to make it easier to purchase a licence, local authorities rolled out a new online system for the purchase of dog licences. Licences can now be purchased online, at Post Offices or at local authority offices. This initiative demonstrates the commitment of local authorities to driving efficiencies and modernising to meet the needs of citizens. Furthermore, I understand that mobile access and reporting facilities, which will assist detection and evasion, will also be enabled for the local authority dog warden service.
I understand from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), which has policy responsibility for the Microchipping of Dogs Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 63/2015), that it has no plans currently to centralise microchip databases. Under the Microchipping of Dogs Regulations 2015, four companies are authorised by DAFM to operate dog identification databases. These companies are legally required to provide certain details regarding the microchips registered with them to Europetnet, a group of national and local associations throughout Europe that register information about pets that have been uniquely identified. A person can enter a chip number into Europetnet to establish whether the chip is a valid number. Certain persons such as dog wardens and those who microchip dogs have access through this portal to the databases to enable the identification of microchipped dogs - including information about their registered owners.
As the Department with responsibility in the area, DAFM has indicated that no fines have been issued in respect of the selling of pets and the Animal Health and Welfare (Sale and Supply of Pet Animals) Regulations 2019.
