New research shows 84% of Irish people don't know how to check if a dog breeder is licensed
More than eight in ten Irish adults don’t know how to check whether a dog breeder is licensed, according to a new survey by Dogs Trust Ireland.
The findings follow a recent appearance before the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food, and Dogs Trust believes that the research demonstrates a need for a trustworthy breeding regime.
The Oireachtas Committee held a pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Dog Breeding Establishments (Amendments) Bill 2026.
Dogs Trust say that while they welcome the proposed legislation, there are a number of areas they feel need to be strengthened.
The legislation is currently drafted, stating that the minimum requirement will be for one full-time equivalent employee for every 20 adult female dogs.
Dogs Trust highlighted that this approach could lead to one staff member being responsible for caring for up to 140 dogs. The charity has said there should be a welfare-outcome approach, where every licenced dog breeding establishment should have a welfare management plan, setting out how it will meet the needs of the puppies in their care.
Sarah Lynch, Policy Manager at Dogs Trust Ireland, said: “It is vital that anyone who wants to make a puppy part of their family should have confidence that the system behind that breeder has the welfare of dogs as its top priority.
“We believe that the legislation needs to make sure that every licenced establishment has to be able to demonstrate how dogs born on their premises have received the appropriate level of care, exercise and socialisation. The most important time in a dog's life is when they are a puppy, so we need to guarantee them the best care for that puppy to go on to live a rewarding life in someone’s home.”
Further to this, Dogs Trust told the Committee that traceability should be at the forefront of the new regulatory framework, making sure that dogs are linked to their parents and the breeding establishment they came from.