Further Information on Dogs

1. Who is responsible for the control of dogs?

The Control of Dogs Acts 1986 and 1992 place statutory responsibility for dog control and licensing services on local authorities. Under these Acts, local authorities – 29 County Councils and 5 City Councils – have power to appoint dog wardens, to provide shelters for stray and other dogs, to impose on-the-spot fines for a number of offences and to take court prosecutions. Local authorities may make bye-laws also in relation to the control of dogs within their functional areas. These bye-laws could, for example, specify areas where dogs must be kept on a leash or even prohibited. Your local authority will be able to inform you of the bye-laws that apply in your area.

Local authorities may operate their own dog control services or make arrangements with the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA).

By law all dogs must be kept under effective control – owners may be held liable for any injury or damage caused if their dog attacks a person or livestock. The law requires also that all dogs be licensed and there are penalties for non-compliance. There are some exemptions from the licensing requirements, for example, dogs used in official duties by the Gardai, Defence Forces, Custom & Excise Service, etc.

2. Dog Licences

If you have a dog over 4 months old, you must have a licence for it. A licence can be issued only to someone over 16 years of age. A dog licence costs €12.70 and is valid for 1 year from the date of issue of the licence – it can be bought at any post office.

A general dog licence is a licence allowing a person to keep an unspecified number of dogs at one designated premises. These licences are sold by your local authority.

If you do not have a licence for your dog, you are liable to a €30 “on-the-spot” fine. Failure to pay this fine can lead to a prosecution with a maximum fine of €1,269.74 and/or up to 3 months imprisonment if convicted.

3. Dog Fouling

Section 22 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997 makes it an offence for the person in charge of a dog not to clean up when their dog fouls in a public place. Please act responsibly - clean up after your dog and dispose of the dirt in a suitable sanitary manner; use a paper bag. Dog dirt is a health hazard and some day your child might be affected by someone else’s failure to ‘do the right thing’. Train your dog to “go at home” in the garden. Failure to clean up your dog’s waste can lead to a €150 “on-the-spot” fine or on summary conviction to a fine of up to €3,000.

4. Dog Identification

The Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 (Statutory Instrument No. 442 of 1998) require the owner or other person in charge of a dog to ensure that at all times, the dog wears a collar having the name and address of the owner on an attached plate, badge or disc.The regulations contain penalties for non-compliance with this requirement or for defacing or rendering illegible the above particulars.

While the law does not require an owner to micro-chip their dog at present, it is a good means to ensure that if your dog goes astray, when found it can be reunited with you/its owner quickly. If a person has a good relationship with a dog that becomes lost, micro-chipping the animal should help to lessen the ‘ grief ‘by aiding the pet’s recovery. It’s a once-off procedure, the chip is about the size of a grain of rice and is secure and permanent. Chips can vary in quality - talk to a vet, to someone who has undergone a recognised training course or to the ISPCA. The necessary back-up data or ‘paperwork’ must be done also.

5. What powers do dog wardens have?

The powers of dogs wardens include the power to request the name and address of a person where there are reasonable grounds for believing the person is committing, or has committed, an offence under the dog control legislation; to seize and detain any dog and to enter any premises (other than a dwelling), for the purpose of such seizure or detention. It is an offence to impede or obstruct a dog warden in carrying out his/her duties.

6. What can I do about barking dogs?

Excessive barking which causes a nuisance to any person is an offence.   In a good-neighbourly manner, let the dog’s owner know how the barking affects you. They may not have realised what was happening. If that approach fails, a complaint about excessive barking should be made to the District Court. To do this, you must first inform the dog owner in writing using a prescribed form, which can be obtained from your local authority.

7. Rules relating to certain breeds of dog

The Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 place controls on 10 breeds of dogs namely the American Pit Bull Terrier; English Bull Terrier; Staffordshire Bull Terrier; Bull Mastiff; Doberman Pinscher; German Shepherd (Alsatian); Rhodesian Ridgeback; Rottweiler; Japanese Akita; Japanese Tosa and to every dog of the type commonly known as a Ban Dog (or Bandog).  

The controls, which must be observed when the dog is in a public place, require that these dogs, or strains and crosses thereof, must be kept on a strong short lead [only up to 2 metres long] by a person over 16 years of age who is capable of controlling them.  The dog/s must be securely muzzled too.  Furthermore, the Control of Dogs Act 1986 gives specific powers to the courts to order that a dog, which the court considers dangerous, must be kept under proper control or be destroyed. 

8. Spaying/neutering a dog

For various reasons, dogs and pups are put to sleep every year.   In some instances this occurs because a female dog breeds without its owner intending this to happen.   To help reduce unwanted breeding, act responsibly and have your dog spayed or neutered.   Talk to your vet or to the Irish Blue Cross or to the ISPCA.

9. What dog control statistics are available?

See the Department of Rural and Community Development website for annual dog control statistics. 

10. Management of Dog Breeding Establishments Reports

These reports are available in the Publications and Documents box at the right of this screen.

11. How can I contact the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals?

Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA),
Derryglogher Lodge,
Keenagh,
Co. Longford.

Tel.: +353 (0)43 25035;
Fax.: +353 (0)43 25024;
Email: infor@ispca.ie

12. How can I contact The Irish Blue Cross?

The Irish Blue Cross,
Animal Welfare Charity,
15A Goldenbridge Industrial Estate,
Tyrconnell Road,
Inchicore,
Dublin 8

Tel: +353 1 4163030;
Fax: +353 1 4163035
Email: info@bluecross.ie