I wish to raise a serious issue that has horrified the nation and has terrified parents of young children in recent days. A nine year-old boy suffered what can only be described as horrific injuries on Sunday afternoon when he was savagely attacked by a pit bull dog while playing football with his friends in the green area at the estate where he lives in Wexford. The little boy remains in a serious condition in hospital following the attack by a dog that was not under the control of its owner. Nor was it muzzled.

There has been a significant rise in the number of dog attacks on humans in the past five years, with more than 1,700 of these attacks reported from 2016 to 2021. They have had difficulty in finding the dog's owner. The full forces of the law need to be applied where an incident such as this that alters a child's life occurs. Do we need to do more to target the owners of these dogs that are listed as dangerous breeds, and which continue to be in public areas without a lead or a muzzle? Does the legislation need to be strengthened to make dog owners accountable for these dangerous breeds that pose a risk to humans?

All of our thoughts are with Alejandro and his family and friends following the horrific ordeal for that young child. It is quite shocking and all of us are very disturbed by what has transpired here. There is also a degree of anger. I do not understand why there is a need to own such dangerous breeds. I think that we should go back to the drawing board. I do not have the full panoply of legislation in front of me but we do need to go back to the drawing board. What has happened is one child too many. We all have pets but there is no need for this and it needs to be seriously examined. I will revert to the Minister to examine whatever cross-departmental approach we should take. The first thing to do is to ensure there is enforcement. The second issue is the whole area of what is driving this and why there is a necessity for it.