I will begin by thanking Deputy Whitmore not only for bringing forward the Bill, but also for the passion she brings to the area of animal welfare. I refer to the idea of a 12-month delay. We will work with the Government because of the importance of the issue, but we need to get beyond simply kicking the can down the road. Let us start the immediacies of working together. I am very proud to talk about this animal welfare Bill because it also gives me an opportunity to talk about my dog, who I have been dying to talk about in the Chamber for a very long time. My dog is called Ethel and she has no problems in life. She gets walked several times a day and she gets the comfiest bed. Sometimes she allows me to sit on the couch. This dog has no issues at all. However, about two and a half years ago, she got gastroenteritis. She ate something in the park, got an upset stomach and was brought to the vet. The vet up in Cabra treated her amazingly but gave her a little shot in the back with a little needle. Every day since that day, when she walks past that vet, her stride hurries, her tail goes between her legs and she starts to shake a little bit because that was a time in her life when she knew a little bit of pain. I think about that when I consider the context of this Bill to address female dogs being forced to breed constantly from the age of six months, which is incredible to think of. I think about the emotional pain as well as the physical, because these are emotional beings. They are emotionally intelligent. My dog knows when I am not having a good day, so she definitely knows when she is not. I think about the dogs who are in these kennels being forced to breed constantly, as if they are a factory churning out litters. The inhumanity of that is something that sticks with me when I think about the kindness of all of our pets and little animals. We should be rushing to remove that from ourselves. The length and breath of this country, one will find people whose pets are part of their family. The idea that Ireland remains the puppy farm capital of Europe is unconscionable to that little being that sits at our feet and shares our food and home. We need to act with as much pace as we can. Let us work collaboratively on this because it seems to contradict what we all know. Ireland cannot continue with these puppy farms. It cannot continue to have a greyhound industry, which, while a separate issue, is also seeing dogs destroyed constantly. We have to do better because these pets are little friends at home. We cannot continue to have another side industry in which exploitation, cruelty and harm are built in. I want to work with the Minister of State and I know Deputy Whitmore wants to work with him and the Minister, Deputy Heydon. Let us do that quickly.

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