FIANNA Fáil TD Willie O’Dea has this questioned Taoiseach Simon Harris about the need to ban all 11 types of dogs on the State’s restricted list following the tragic death of Limerick woman Nicole Morey.
Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy O’Dea said he had “attended the sad and tragic funeral of Nicole Morey, one of my constituents, whose family members are very well known to me”.
Ms Morey was killed on the day of her 23rd birthday when she was attacked by her own dogs after returning home from a night of celebration.
“The Taoiseach’s colleague, the Tánaiste, is on record as saying that he is in favour of a blanket ban on all 11 types of dogs on the State’s restricted list. Does the Taoiseach agree with the Tánaiste?” Deputy O’Dea asked.
“I hope he does, because some of these breeds have been banned in most European countries, most recently in the UK. I know the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has set up a committee, etc. I think she set it up several months ago. I do not know if it has actually sat yet, but I know she has now instructed the chairman to call a meeting and to come up with a recommendation by next autumn.”
The Limerick TD said that such dog attack incidents are “proliferating”, and asked if “it be possible to inject a bit of energy and speed” into making moves towards a full ban.
In response, Taoiseach Simon Harris extended his sympathies to the family of Nicole Morey, and confirmed that a task force is currently looking into “issues in respect of dogs, dangerous dogs, and dog control to prioritise the issue of introducing a ban on certain breeds”.
“I believe the committee is due to meet on the 26th of June and we have asked that it would report on this specific issue as quickly as possible because we do have to act on this issue.”
