Michael Fitzmaurice Demands Mandatory Microchipping and DNA for Dogs

I think it is welcome that your department now has the full control, because it was pretty messy when there were a few different departments involved in it. A couple of questions that I have for you, I know the County Councils are basically the ones out on the ground looking after it, can it be made compulsory that all dogs have to be microchipped? It would have to be under legislation, so there would have to be new law brought in to do that. And say, in the line of DNA for dogs, because this cannot keep going on, of dogs going into fields, and some of them, after rabbits and all that crack, people go up in fields, what do they call it, lurching is it, or whatever they call it, they have to, it has to be cut out, and no one owns the dog then if there's a bit of hassle. But also, yews that are heavy in lamb, the way that they're, you know, a dog goes in, and it's not alone the harm they do, but it's the harm to the rest of the whole flock. Is there any, there's two things that, in my opinion, needs to be done, whether we like it or whether we don't, is that dogs will have to be microchipped and DNA done on every dog, because we have to cut to the chase, and some people will give out about that, but it cannot go on what's going on. Again, is there any, in your department, is there any push to get legislation forward to cover them two things, to put it simple? Look, it's definitely, we're, as Mary said, completely understanding of the impact of sheep worrying and the negative impact that dogs can have. Genotyping is certainly something that we can examine and that we should examine in terms of that. I think, being honest with you, Deputy, you'd have to do a cost-benefit analysis and all in relation to that, to see, could you make sure that the expense that would be invested in that plan would bear fruit. But certainly, I wouldn't be saying no, and in terms of the centralized database, I suppose, we would be making sure that it would be able to adapt in time, if that was something that was to happen. But just to repeat again, that it certainly wouldn't be easy, and there would be an awful lot of challenges in relation to implementing a mandatory genotyping program for dogs. And I suppose the cattle one is only in its infancy, and we might want to see how that goes and how it works in relation to, like, the cattle DNA verification program at the moment is only in relation to parentage. We don't use it for the investigation of crime or anything like that, so it would be a totally new area. It would have to be really heavily researched, I'd say, before we would go down that road. And in the line of microchipping, which would be the easy one to start off with, you can have a zapper in your hand and you can put it near a dog to read them or to know who they are, to put it simple, or what they are. Is that not a sort of a thing we should be automatically doing? Like, my argument would be, and I know some people will say, oh, well, that's more expensive. They're able to, like, we have a few dogs at home, and the dog costs nearly more than a calf now, to be honest about it. And they're minded, and in fairness to people, the mind dogs, like, they'll always say a dog is a man's best friend, but they are minded very well. But if you're prepared to throw out four or five or six hundred euro for a dog, you should be prepared to not be afraid to have them. Most of them are microchipped now. But there's a cohort around this country that has dogs, and they're torturing farmers, which is not acceptable, and they're giving go-fit guides when a farmer goes up to them. The guard, they have a problem with them, and you have to be responsible if you have a dog, no more than if you have a care, or no more than if you have a tractor, that if they do harm to something, they're responsible. And until we get tough on that, we're going to be talking about, like, I've been in here many a time, and in fairness, different infirmary organisations have brought out good documents about this. The chair has brought them in here, in fairness, and we can talk and talk and talk for years, but until we get, we either want to solve this problem or we don't, and it's not, like, this isn't a big monetary cost to the department. If I have to chip a dog, it's me that pays. If I have to DNA a dog, it's me that pays. And we are doing it to cattle now, and I think for, down the road for evidence, where sheep are attacked and lambs lost, we have to be able to seek them, which is the culprit. And in a lot of cases, if you bring in the medicine, you don't have to use it, because people will get more responsible. And this crack of dogs going around the country into farmers' fields, without, may I add, them getting the consent to go in, in most places, coming out from big towns or cities or whatever, and giving guff to farmers, it's not acceptable. And we have to cut to the chase in it, and the council won't be able to go around and shake every dog. But if different bodies or whatever, be it the guards and the council, had a yoke that should be able to go along, like we read a water meter, to put it simple. You can go along by a water meter and you can flick up what meters is used. And I would ask the department that I think you'll have the support of all parties in the Dáil. There'll be an odd one that will be mouthing and giving out about this, that and the other. But at the end of the day, we have to look at the greater good for all of the people, and the greater good for both the dog and for other animals out there. And we cannot go on to where we're going, because there's too much out right around this country. And farmers are being cleaned out where a dog attacks them. Okay? Thank you. Thank you.