Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 October 2026
4. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will ban industrial puppy farming by adding a cap on the maximum number of breeding bitches permitted under the forthcoming dog breeding establishments (amendment) Bill 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [71049/26]
View answerAs the Minister knows, Ireland has the pretty shameful title as the puppy farm capital of Europe. More than 122,000 dogs were registered last year. Some were raised in pretty horrific conditions. Will the Minister amend the forthcoming dog breeding establishments (amendment) Bill 2026 to ban industrial puppy farming by capping the maximum number of breeding females?
I thank the Deputy for raising this and highlighting what we all know, which is that legislation in this regard is not where we want it to be. That is why I have been very determined to make significant change. I was part of the programme for Government talks. I very much was somebody who agreed with the transfer of responsibility for the Control of Dogs Act and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act. The policy and legislative responsibility under the Control of Dogs Act and the Dog Breeding Establishment Act came under my Department last year. In both cases, local authorities retain responsibility for all operational and enforcement matters. Previously, that was spread across three Departments, which was not right. I did that because I want to make significant progress in this space. That is why on 19 May this year I published draft legislation - the dog breeding establishments (amendment) Bill 2026 - to update existing regulatory framework for dog 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 is undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny at the Oireachtas joint committee on agriculture.
The Deputy asked about specific provisions. We are to start a significant legislative process. I look forward to working with all Members of this House and the Seanad, as well as the Oireachtas committee as we progress this legislation that is very much needed. It is a key determination of mine to change our rules regarding how operations happen here. The legislation seeks to address the concerns about excessive numbers through a mandatory staffing ratio of 1:20, which 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.
Regarding the question on the cap on the number of breeding females, I have not ruled that out. We will look at this. We will debate it as we should with any good legislation but a hard legislative cap has not been included on the total number of breeding females at a dog establishment in the current draft heads of Bill. I will go through some of the constraints that we will face on that.
I recognise and welcome that there is some recognition of the problem here. Behind these beautiful cute puppies, over 100,000 a year are dogs kept in horrific conditions. There are up to 300 breeding bitches in one establishment alone. They are kept in cages without water, food, bedding, entertainment, engagement, etc. They are industrial products to produce as many puppies as possible. When they are done producing puppies, there is no more use for them. It is pretty horrific. The main point I wish to make is that I do not see how we can stop the abuses that are happening in this industry without having a limit on the number of bitches allowed in an establishment. There is over 20 allowed more than 100. In the most recent figures, there is at least one with 300. We are talking about thousands of puppies on that basis. We need to deal with the numbers to tackle industrial breeding.
We are in agreement that there is unacceptable practice happening that we want to address. There are some very good practices that do this well and right. For them, they have nothing to fear from this legislation because we are going to shine a light on good practice and shine a light if there is bad practice and stamp it out. That is ultimately my ambition here. The legal advice indicates that there are difficulties with the capping element. This is something that we will discuss throughout the legislative process. There are also practical issues that have to be explored further. My Department will engage with the Office of the Attorney General to explore the question of a cap during the formal drafting stage. I look forward to progressing this legislation as a priority because the provisions will make a significant difference in the welfare of breeding dogs and their pups.
The point the Deputy raised is valid. There are lots of people at home who might be watching this debate who have a much-loved family pet who they bought off somebody. It was advertised on a website. They met them in a public car park somewhere, bought it and do not know the breeding establishment that it came from or the conditions that its mother went through and beyond. This legislation will change that. Those people will only be able to purchase or sell animals in the breeding establishment. It will shine a light on where that practice is as well as a range of other conditions that I will go into in the next supplementary reply.
Regarding some of the limits of what is currently set out in the heads of Bill, there is no ban on surgical artificial insemination and no cap on the size of farms, which is the focus of this question. The Minister said that the staff ratio creates an indirect limit. One staff member per 25 bitches means that one staff member could be responsible for over 100 dogs. There is some sort of total that there is not going to be tens of thousands of dogs on a farm, but when we add up the number the puppies, it is not that much of a limit. There is also a series of bans but if a vet says otherwise, the ban no longer exists. We need to take a hard approach to stop Ireland functioning as this. We do not want the reputation as Ireland being the puppy farm capital of Europe and all the horrific conditions that go with it. We do not want to restrict amateurs, people who are breeding in a good way and so on, but there is the idea of this industrial style factory raising dogs.
That is what we are going to change by protecting breeding dogs through their lifetime by limiting it up to four litters, extendable to six years only with veterinary approval. A one litter per year cap will prevent repeat breeding within a short timeframe giving breeding bitches appropriate rest and recovery time, which, as the Deputy outlined, is not happening in certain instances right now. New minimum and maximum breeding age limits means that no dog under 12 months or over eight years of age can be bred from. Any dog that has previously undergone two caesarean sections cannot be bred from again. It is hard to believe that inbreeding is not explicitly prohibited and defined in statute but that is something that I will address for the first time in Irish law. It is a practice that is associated with severe health problems for dogs and pups. There is significant change going on here. I am determined to get this right. The Deputy talked about establishments. What is an establishment? A garage is an establishment. A warehouse is an establishment. There are caps in there through the staffing numbers and the other elements, but this is something that I look forward to engaging with the Deputy and other Members of the House on as we change this important area and strengthen the legislation in this space.
