996. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether he accepts that dog breeding establishments licensed to keep in excess of 300 breeding bitches may give rise to significant animal welfare concerns relating to individual care, exercise, socialisation and oversight; whether his Department has undertaken any review of the appropriateness of existing licensing thresholds; and if he will outline any plans to amend the legislation governing dog breeding establishments. [65465/26]

997. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will review the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 and associated regulations with a view to introducing a maximum cap on the number of breeding dogs that may be kept at a single licensed dog breeding establishment. [65464/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 996 and 997 together.

In order to bring a coherent approach to dog control, policy and legislative responsibility under both the Control of Dogs Act 1986 and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 transferred to my Department last year. In both cases, local authorities retain responsibility for all operational and enforcement matters, including issuing Dog Breeding Licences.

Inspections of dog breeding establishments are carried out by my Department and by the Dog Warden service, acting on behalf of individual Local Authorities. All registered dog breeding establishments undergo an annual inspection. Additional inspections, which include unannounced inspections are carried out according to a risk assessment.

On 19th May 2026, my Department published draft legislation, 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 has since been referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine for pre-legislative scrutiny.

Regarding the question of a cap on the number of breeding females, a hard legislative cap on the total number of breeding females at a dog breeding establishment has not been included in the present draft Heads of Bill. Legal advice indicates that there are difficulties with such an approach.

My Department will engage with the Office of the Attorney General to explore the question of a cap further during the formal drafting stage .

Local authorities will retain the ability to set conditions on the number of breeding females at an establishment as part of the registration process, and this avenue remains open.