Animal Welfare
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-14
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Martin Heydon (FG), Kildare South

I thank the Deputy. I will not fall into the trap of pitting the dog against the cat and which is more popular. I have Sammy, my collie, at home who keeps any cat away. The general public absolutely expects and demands of us the highest animal welfare standards. It is something I am passionate about. Coming from a farming background, I was raised, and I am raising my children, with the approach that if we treat animals well we will treat humans well. A society can be judged on how it deals with issues such as this. There are many different ways to do so. There is policy and enforcement, and the need to change policy as well. I look forward to receiving the stakeholder group's report. I am reviewing all legislation on dogs and I will be guided by the recommendations. At the same time, I am also due to bring the heads of a Bill on dog breeding establishments to Cabinet imminently. This is another area of work I am determined to progress.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:56+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-14