Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, collective citation and commencement.

1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010.

(2) The Control of Dogs Acts 1986 and 1992 and Part 3 may be cited together as the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 to 2010.

(3) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or provisions.

2. Definitions.

2.— In this Act—

“Act of 1986” means the Control of Dogs Act 1986;

“Act of 2001” means the Local Government Act 2001;

“annual dog breeding establishment charge” has the meaning assigned to it by section 14;

“appropriate fee” has the meaning assigned to it by section 9 (4);

“authorised person” means—

(a) a dog warden, or

(b) a person appointed to be an authorised person under section 18;

F1[…]

“closure notice” has the meaning assigned to it by section 21;

“commercial boarding kennel” means a premises (other than an animal shelter) where dogs, not owned by the occupier of the premises, are temporarily sheltered, fed and watered in consideration of the payment of a fee;

“consumer price index number” means the All Items Consumer Price Index Number compiled by the Central Statistics Office, and a reference to the consumer price index number in respect of any year is a reference to the consumer price index number at such date in that year as is determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance;

F1[…]

“dog” includes bitch;

“dog breeding establishment” means a premises at which bitches are kept, not less than 6 of which are—

(a) more than 6 months old, and

(b) capable of being used for breeding purposes,

but shall not include a local authority dog pound;

“dog warden” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1986;

“hunt club” means a hunt or game club—

(a) registered with a national hunting association that is a member of—

(i) the Hunting Association of Ireland, or

(ii) the Irish branch of the Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the European Union (FACE),

and

(b) that operates in accordance with the guidelines for kennel management issued by the Hunting Association of Ireland;

“improvement notice” has the meaning assigned to it by section 20;

F2["local authority" means a local authority for the purposes of theLocal Government Act 2001(as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014);]

“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government;

“operator” means, in relation to a dog breeding establishment, the person who owns or manages the establishment or is otherwise responsible for the running of the establishment;

“public trainer’s licence” means a public trainer’s licence granted by Bord na gCon under the Regulations of 1961;

“register” has the meaning assigned to it by section 9;

“registration certificate” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (11) of section 9;

“Regulations of 1961” means the Greyhound Trainers’ Regulations 1961 (S.I. No. 58 of 1961);

“veterinary practitioner” means a person registered under Part 4 of the Veterinary Practice Act 2005.

3. Regulations.

3.— (1) The Minister may by regulations provide for any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(2) Without prejudice to any provision of this Act, regulations under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

(3) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

4. Expenses.

4.— The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

5. Service of documents.

5.— (1) A notice or other document that is required to be served on or given to a person under this Act shall be addressed to the person concerned by name, and may be so served on or given to the person in one of the following ways:

(a) by delivering it to the person;

(b) by leaving it at the address at which the person ordinarily resides or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, at that address; or

(c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter to the address at which the person ordinarily resides or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, to that address.

(2) For the purpose of this section, a company within the meaning of the Companies Acts shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its registered office, and every other body corporate and every unincorporated body of persons shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its principal office or place of business.

6. Offences.

6.— (1) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (16) or (17) of section 9 or subsection (5) of section 19shall be liable on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under section 12(7), 21(7), 22, or 23 shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

(3) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1967 shall apply in relation to an offence to which this section applies as if, in lieu of the penalties specified in subsection (3)(a) of the said section 13, there were specified therein the penalties provided for in subsection (2)(a) of this section, and the reference in subsection (2)(a) of the said section 13 to the penalties provided for by subsection (3) shall be construed accordingly.

(4) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in such capacity, that person shall, as well as the body corporate, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(5) Summary proceedings for an offence under this Act may be brought and prosecuted by the local authority in whose functional area the offence is alleged to have been committed.

(6) A fine imposed on summary conviction of an offence under this Act shall be paid to the local authority in whose functional area the offence was committed and disposed of in such manner as the local authority determines.

7. Fixed payment notice.

7.— (1) Where an authorised person has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed an offence under subsection (17) of section 9, the authorised person may give to the person a notice in writing (in this section referred to as a “fixed payment notice”) in the prescribed form stating that—

(a) the person is alleged to have committed that offence,

(b) the person may during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice make to the relevant local authority at the address specified in the notice a payment of such amount as may be prescribed, being an amount of not more than €2,000, accompanied by the notice,

(c) the person is not obliged to make the payment specified in the notice, and

(d) a prosecution of the person to whom the notice is given in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted.

(2) Where a fixed payment notice is given under subsection (1)—

(a) the person to whom it applies may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the relevant local authority at the address specified in the notice the payment specified in the notice accompanied by the notice,

(b) the relevant local authority may, upon receipt of the payment, issue a receipt for it and any payment so received shall not be recoverable by the person who made it, and

(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and if the payment so specified is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted.

(3) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (17) of section 9 it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that he or she has made a payment, in accordance with this section, pursuant to a fixed payment notice issued in respect of that offence.

(4) Moneys received pursuant to the giving of a fixed payment notice shall be disposed of in a manner determined by the relevant local authority.

(5) In this section “relevant local authority” means, in relation to the alleged commission of an offence, the local authority in whose functional area the offence is alleged to have been committed.

8. Review of operation of Act.

8.— The Minister shall, not later than 12 months after the commencement of section 9, conduct a review of the operation of this Act.

PART 2 Regulation of Dog Breeding Establishments

9. Register of dog breeding establishments.

9.— (1) Each local authority shall cause to be established and maintained a register (to be known as a “register of dog breeding establishments” and in this Act referred to as a “register”) of dog breeding establishments situated in its functional area.

(2) Where a person proposes to operate a dog breeding establishment, he or she shall, in accordance with this section, apply to the local authority in whose functional area the premises at which it is proposed to operate the dog breeding establishment is situated to have the premises registered in the register maintained by that local authority.

(3) A person who, immediately before the commencement of this section, was operating a dog breeding establishment shall, if he or she wishes to continue operating the establishment after such commencement, apply not later than 6 months after such commencement, to the local authority in whose functional area the dog breeding establishment is situated to have the establishment registered in the register maintained by that local authority.

(4) An application under this section shall—

(a) be in writing,

(b) specify the name of the applicant and the address at which he or she ordinarily resides,

(c) specify the address of the premises at which the applicant intends to operate a dog breeding establishment or is operating a dog breeding establishment, as the case may be,

(d) contain such other information as may be prescribed, and

(e) unless the applicant is a fee exempt applicant, be accompanied by a fee (in this Act referred to as the “appropriate fee”).

(5) A local authority that receives an application under this section shall, subject to subsections (6) and (7), register the premises or dog breeding establishment in respect of which the application is made in the register maintained by that local authority, and accordingly shall enter the following in that register:

(a) the name of the applicant and the address at which he or she ordinarily resides,

(b) the address of the premises or dog breeding establishment to which the application relates,

(c) the maximum number of bitches over F3[6 months] old capable of being used for breeding purposes that may be kept at the premises or dog breeding establishment, and

(d) any conditions attaching to the registration.

(6) A local authority shall not register a premises or dog breeding establishment under this section if—

(a) the application does not comply with subsection (4), or

(b) it is of the opinion that the premises in respect of which the application concerned was made is not suitable for the operation of a dog breeding establishment.

(7) A local authority may refuse to register a premises or dog breeding establishment under this section if, by reason of—

(a) the commission by the applicant of—

(i) an offence under this Act or the Act of 1986,

(ii) an offence involving cruelty to an animal,

or

(b) the contravention by the applicant of—

(i) a provision of this Act or any regulations under this Act, or

(ii) a provision of the Act of 1986 or any regulations or bye-laws under that Act,

the local authority considers that such refusal is necessary to ensure the safeguarding of animal welfare.

(8) A local authority shall not make a decision to refuse to register a premises or dog breeding establishment under this section until it has considered any representations made by the applicant in accordance with section 10.

(9) A local authority may, after considering any representations made by an applicant in accordance with section 10, attach such conditions as it considers appropriate to the registration of a premises or dog breeding establishment under this section having regard to the need to protect public health and maintain animal welfare.

(10) A local authority shall notify an applicant under this section of—

(a) a decision to grant an application under this section,

(b) a decision to grant such application subject to conditions, or

(c) a decision to refuse to grant such an application,

not later than 14 days from the making of the decision.

(11) Upon the registration of a premises or dog breeding establishment under this section, a certificate (in this Act referred to as a “registration certificate”) of such registration shall be issued to the applicant for registration by the local authority containing the information entered in the register maintained by that local authority in accordance with subsection (5).

(12) The operator of a dog breeding establishment registered under this section shall display the registration certificate issued to him or her in respect thereof in a prominent position at that establishment.

(13) If a particular entered in a register maintained by a local authority under this section is incorrect, the operator of the dog breeding establishment to which the particular relates shall, as soon as may be after becoming aware of its being incorrect, inform the local authority concerned thereof accordingly.

(14) A local authority shall, upon becoming aware that any particular entered in the register maintained by it under this section is incorrect or has ceased to be correct, make such alterations to that register as it considers necessary.

(15) A local authority shall publish in such manner as it thinks fit, and make available for inspection at all reasonable times by members of the public, the register maintained by it under this section.

(16) A person who in purported compliance with subsection (4) knowingly or recklessly provides information or a particular to a local authority that is false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence.

(17) A person who contravenes subsection (12) shall be guilty of an offence.

(18) In this section “fee exempt applicant” means an applicant who is—

(a) a hunt club,

(b) a charitable organisation within the meaning of the Charities Act 2009,

(c) entitled to an exemption under section 207 or 208 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 and in respect of whom the Revenue Commissioners have issued a number (commonly referred to as a CHY number) for the purposes of such exemption,

(d) the operator of a dog breeding establishment that is used for commercial boarding kennel purposes only, or

(e) the operator of a dog breeding establishment that is used solely for the purposes of the management and training of greyhounds for reward pursuant to a public trainer’s licence.

10. Representations made by applicant for registration under section 9.

10.— (1) Where a local authority proposes to—

(a) refuse to register a premises or dog breeding establishment in accordance with subsection (6) or (7) of section 9, or

(b) register a premises or dog breeding establishment in accordance with subsection (9) of section 9,

it shall notify the operator of the establishment in writing thereof.

(2) An applicant under section 9 on whom a notification under subsection (1)is served may, not later than 14 days after receiving the notification make representations in writing to the local authority concerned in relation to the proposal concerned.

11. Appeal to District Court against decision of local authority.

11.— (1) A person whose application for registration of a premises or dog breeding establishment under section 9 is refused may appeal the refusal to a judge of the District Court sitting in the district court district in which the premises or dog breeding establishment concerned is situated, not later than 14 days, or such longer period as a judge of the District Court sitting in that district may for good and sufficient reason determine, after service on the person of a notification in writing of the refusal.