2026-07-09

I am happy to see the Minister, Deputy Heydon, is amending the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 and is introducing some stronger regulations for dog breeding. They are long overdue. I am also pleased to see that many of the proposals he is including are proposals I included in my dog breeding Bill last December. We debated that Bill in the Chamber last December so I am pleased to see those suggestions being carried forward into this legislation. However, there are a number of glaring gaps in what the Minister is doing. The first, and probably most important one, is that no cap is included in the Minister's legislation. Currently, dog breeding establishments can have up to 300 breeding females. There could be 300 breeding females, plus all their pups and 50, 60 or 70 male dogs on site. That is a huge number of animals. If we are trying to move away from being known internationally as the puppy farm capital of Europe, we need to curb, and have some level of control over, the number of pups being produced at these sites. The only way to do that is through a cap. I understand the Minister has said there are some legal concerns about it. Other countries have done it. I do not see why we cannot do something similar. There are not many breeders who have that capacity to breed, so I am not sure why the Government is closing an eye to the very large breeders. My Bill included a cap of 30 and I ask that the Government consider including that cap in this legislation. As I said, unless a cap is put in place, the integrity of the Bill will be undermined. It is fundamental. In my legislation, I suggested a 1:10 staff to dog ratio and the Minister is including a 1:20 ratio. That is too high. It is one staff member looking after 20 breeding females, plus all their pups and whatever male dogs are on site. That is a lot of animals in one person's care, making sure they are fed and watered and being domesticated. Ultimately, these pups will end up in people's homes and it is important they are socialised and get used to being handled by people and played with. I cannot see how one individual can deal with that many breeding females and pups. A person could have more than 100 animals in their care. It is an important time in the development of a puppy. Socialisation has to happen at that stage and that ratio is not sufficient. Therefore, I ask that this be addressed in the legislation. As I said, we debated my Bill in the Dáil last December. During that debate, I agreed to a nine-month delay in voting on the Bill because I was promised by the Minister that I would be included and involved in the development of the Minister's Bill. I heard zilch - nothing. There was no consultation on anything substantive. I did not even know when the Bill would come out. When I hear from the Government that the Opposition never provides any constructive solutions, I will say that was a constructive Bill. The Government agreed it was constructive-----

Thank you, Deputy.

-----and promised it would work with me on it and it did not. That has completely undermined trust in the process.

I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising the issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Heydon. I will convey to him her disappointment at the lack of engagement that she pointed out. Reform of legislation governing dog welfare is a key priority for the Government. In order to bring a coherent approach to dog control, policy and legislative responsibility under both the Control of Dogs Act 1986 and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 transferred to our Department last year. In both cases, local authorities retain responsibility for operational and enforcement matters. In relation to dog breeding establishments, I am pleased to confirm that the dog breeding establishments (amendment) Bill 2026 is being actively progressed. The Bill has 17 heads and addresses three core areas: welfare and breeding standards, sales and record keeping, and administration and enforcement. On welfare and breeding standards, the Bill will place enhanced duties on operators covering the socialisation and habituation of dogs so that female breeding dogs and pups receive the exercise and social interaction that are so important to their well-being. It will introduce a four-litter lifetime limit, extendable to six litters only with veterinary certification, and a cap of one litter per year, giving female breeding dogs rest and recovery between litters. The Bill will also introduce new minimum and maximum breeding age limits, prohibit the mating of female breeding dogs that have had two caesarean sections and impose a ban on inbreeding, addressing a practice associated with severe health problems for dogs and pups. A mandatory minimum staffing ratio of one full-time equivalent staff member per 20 female breeding dogs will also be placed on a statutory footing, ensuring animals receive proper daily care and attention, with a two-year transition period to allow operators to adjust in a timely and responsible manner. On sales, the Bill will ban third-party sales from dog breeding establishments. It will be unlawful for operators to sell dogs under eight weeks of age or to sell them from any premises other than where they were born and reared. Prior to any sale, prospective buyers must be shown the pup’s biological mother on site. Dog breeding establishments must notify local authorities of all sales of pups from their premises. On administration and enforcement, authorised persons will be granted new powers to seize and detain dogs where it is reasonably suspected that an offence has been committed. Penalties for the most serious offences will be significantly increased to a fine of up to €250,000, five years' imprisonment or both. This will bring the sanctions under the 2010 Act in line with those available under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. At present, the Minister has not included a hard legislative cap on the total number of female breeding dogs at a dog breeding establishment in the general scheme of the Bill. Legal advice indicates that there are difficulties with such an approach. There are also practical issues that would have to be explored further. The Minister is considering the matter. The Bill addresses concerns about excessive numbers through other means. The mandatory staffing ratio of 1:20 creates an indirect but real constraint on establishment size. The strengthened and improved notice regime will explicitly empower authorised persons to require a reduction in the number of dogs on premises where welfare concerns arise. Local authorities also retain the ability to set conditions on the number of breeding females as part of the registration process. This avenue remains open to them, particularly in respect of new applications. The Minister hopes to bring forward this legislation as soon as possible. He looks forward to working with Deputies and Senators across the Houses on this important issue.

Part of the Minister of State's response reads, "The mandatory staffing ratio of 1:20 creates an indirect but real constraint on establishment size." I am really not sure what the rationale behind that is. I assume the Minister of State means that people will not want to employ a lot of staff because it is a cost to them, but if somebody has 20 breeding females and each has an average of five pups, you are looking at 100 pups. That is a minimum of €100,000. It is a lot of money. This is big business. I do not think having to pay a staff member minimum wage to mind the pups is going to be much of a constraint. I ask the Minister of State to ensure there is a proper constraint on the size of these premises, which are essentially production lines. The only way to do that is to put in a cap. I ask that the Minister of State look at a cap. If the Attorney General needs to look at other countries that have brought in similar measures for guidance as to how to do it, I suggest he do so. It is fundamental that a cap is included in the legislation. In November, the consultation on the animal welfare strategy began. It closed in January. Nothing has been published yet. There are still no details and we have not seen the submissions from that consultation. The dog control stakeholder group was established in 2024. I believe that group has reported, although I am not sure. When is the Minister going to publish both of those reports? It is really important that he is transparent about whatever came out of those two consultation processes. The results must form part of the discussions on the development of this Bill.

I again thank the Deputy for raising these issues. Animal welfare is something we all take very seriously and that we are all very committed to. It is opportune that this legislation is being updated. A lot of the points Deputy Whitmore has made are very valid. I respect her in that regard. I will ask the officials to send the Deputy an update on the two consultations she has referred to.