Animal Welfare
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-14
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Naoise Ó Muirí (FG), Dublin Bay North

It is good to hear the Minister and the Department are taking the issue seriously and I look forward to hearing the recommendations of the stakeholder group. The set-up is a bit unwieldy though. The Department is responsible for annual inspections of breeding establishments but local authorities, such as Dublin City Council, are effectively responsible for enforcement. This creates a bit of a disconnect and a risk of issues falling between the Department and the local authorities. Local authorities may not perform their responsibilities to the same standard across the country. Has the Department considered merging responsibility for inspection and enforcement centrally, either under the Department itself or another agency that would take overall responsibility for inspection and enforcement as required?

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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