Government to fund up to 40 new dog wardens to help enforce XL bully ban
The Government has announced funding of €2 million which it said would facilitate the hiring of up to 40 additional dog wardens by councils nationwide.
It said the funding was being put in place from 2025 in light of the "increased demands in the area of dog control," and the need to ensure that there are adequate resources to "enforce the pending ban on XL Bully dogs".
The funding was jointly announced today (Thursday) by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, and the Minister of State with Responsibility for Local Government and Planning, Alan Dillon.
It follows on from this month's announcement that the Government is banning the XL bully type of dogs.
From October 1, new regulations are due to prevent the importing, breeding, selling and re-homing of XL bullies, and from February it will be illegal to own one of these dogs unless a 'certificate of exemption' has been granted.
Announcing the €2 million in funding today, Minister Humphreys said: "Public safety is my number one priority, this funding will help each local authority to ensure they have the necessary number of dog wardens in place.
"The measures banning the import, sale and breeding of XL Bullies will be in place very shortly. This funding will help ensure that these new measures are enforced on the ground.
"I have already trebled the fines for a range of offences. Whether it's in our towns, villages or cities, there should be zero tolerance for people who do not keep their dogs under proper control in public spaces.
"I have asked Local Authorities to begin the process of increasing the number of dog wardens as soon as possible."
The Government said the funding announcement today 'builds on previous funding from the Department of Rural and Community Development to improve local authority dog pound facilities'.
Commenting today, Minister of State Alan Dillon said: "We must protect our communities from dangerous dogs.
"I am confident this allocation will support the enforcement of new dog control measures at a local level, and ensure that authorities can continue to meet the growing challenges in this area."