2570. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his position on the introduction of a cap on the number of breeding females permitted within a dog breeding establishment; and if the public consultation responses from the Dog Control Stakeholder group recommended the introduction of the cap. [56672/26]

My Department has lead policy responsibility within government for animal welfare and takes the matter of animal welfare most seriously.

I have not included a hard legislative cap on the total number of breeding females at a dog breeding establishment in the present draft Heads of Bill. Legal advice indicates that there are difficulties with such an approach. There are also practical issues that would have to be explored further. An establishment can in principle increase in size and staffing to accommodate more animals without necessarily affecting welfare outcomes. My Department will consider further.

In the meantime, the Bill addresses concerns about excessive numbers through other means. The mandatory staffing ratio of one staff per 20 female breeding dogs creates an indirect but real constraint on establishment size. The strengthened improvement 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, and this avenue remains open to them, particularly in respect of new applications.