Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-20
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Martin Heydon (FG), Kildare South

Nobody has a monopoly on passion or care for animals, including horses and dogs, or any other elements of animal welfare. As Minister with responsibility for animal welfare, I am determined to drive an agenda of change in a whole host of areas. I was part of the negotiations on the programme for Government when we transferred the control of dogs back to my Department, which is the right place for it. This is a clear outworking of that. What was agreed yesterday by the Cabinet was the heads of a Bill on dog control and how we approach dog breeding establishments. This is a key element of that. It is something in which Deputy Whitmore has a keen interest. I look forward to working with her and all Members of the House as that Bill progresses through all Stages in the Dáil, the Seanad and at committee, as we put in place dog breeding establishment legislation that will take away some of the bad practices that happened in the past. That is something that I know Deputy Whitmore wants to do, as do I and my colleagues in government. I look forward to working with the Deputy and all Members of the House on that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-20