2739. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number of non-licensed dog breeding centres that have been shut down by his Department or related agencies in each of the years 2022 to 2025 inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62275/26]

2740. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding any engagement he has had with animal welfare charities regarding the regulation and inspection of non-licenced dog breeding establishments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62274/26]

2741. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding any engagement he has had with animal welfare charities regarding the regulation and inspection of licenced dog breeding establishments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62273/26]

2742. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the merits of creating a maximum limit for the number of breeding dogs that can be kept in a single licenced dog breeding establishment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62272/26]

2743. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number of inspections carried out on dog breeding facilities in 2023, 2024 and 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62271/26]

2744. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actions he is taking to crack down on the presence of puppy farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62270/26]

2745. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actions he is taking to ensure the aims of the Dog Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2025 are progressed within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62269/26]

2746. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding any research ongoing into the merits of progressing the Dog Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62268/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2739, 2740, 2741, 2742, 2743, 2744, 2745 and 2746 together.

On 1 August 2025, all policy and legislative responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 transferred to my Department. Under the Act, local authorities are responsible for operational and enforcement matters.

A Private Members Bill, the Dog Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2025, went before the Dáil for a second debate on 10th December 2025. A 9-month timed amendment was agreed.

On 19th May 2026, I brought a memo to Government on the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2026 to update the existing regulatory framework for dog breeding establishments in Ireland across three key areas - welfare and breeding, sales and record keeping, and administration and enforcement. The Bill was approved for priority drafting and referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny. This Bill takes on board the recommendations of the Dog Control stakeholder group which was made up of experts in the field including animal welfare charities.

Regarding creating a maximum number of breeding females a dog breeding establishment may keep, 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 this further. In the meantime local authorities 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.

Inspections of dog breeding establishments are carried out by my Department and by local authority Dog Wardens. My Department does not hold information on the number of inspections carried out by the Dog Warden service or the number of inspections carried out prior to January 2025. This information can be requested from the local authorities directly.

My Department carried out 128 inspections on dog breeding establishments on behalf of local authorities in 2025. Of these, 89 of which were unannounced. My Department issued one Improvement Notice and three Closure Notices.