I commend the work of Deputy Whitmore in preparing this legislation that has come before us today. "We're full and still they come" were the words of Limerick Animal Welfare in the media yesterday. It described 2025 as unprecedented, with a year-round surge in puppies and kittens being surrendered to it. This is in advance of what it and many other rescues will see in the swathe of animal surrenders, mostly dogs, in January and February of next year. Rescues are doing a remarkable job on behalf of this State but to meaningfully address this problem requires strengthening the legislation. My colleague, Deputy Whitmore, has introduced evidence-informed legislation that would go a meaningful way towards ending the cruel practices currently facilitated by a lack of regulation in Ireland. For most of us, the only way to try to stamp out puppy farms is to not give them the business they need to continue but this Government can do a whole lot more than that. I isolate the role of local authorities here. Are councils resourced to really enforce the current legislation when it comes to unauthorised developments, specifically with regard to puppy farms? Are we resourcing councils with adequate dog wardens and facilities in this regard? Ultimately, are we taking this issue seriously enough? More than that, the Government could choose to facilitate this Bill going to Committee Stage to debate its merits and talk in detail about what strengthening it would look like. This Government likes to be the best and top of the class in European comparisons. Ireland is the capital of puppy farms and puppy deportations. That is not a list we want to be top of and this legislation would meaningfully address that.

Sentiment score: 0.15

Jesus.

Sentiment score: 0.00