Dog Fouling
Under Section 22 of the Litter Pollution Act, 1997, it is an offence to allow a dog under your control to foul a public place. This means that you or the person in charge of your dog is required under this law to remove dog faeces and dispose of it in a suitable and sanitary way.
You can make a complaint to the District Court under the litter laws against an owner or someone in charge of a dog who allows that dog to foul public places and who fails to act responsibly. Before you do this, you must first inform the dog owner of your intention by completing a special form, which is available from the Dog Control Unit of Cork County Council.
An on-the-spot fine of €150 can be imposed on the owner of a dog who fouls a public place, with the maximum fine for this offence being €3,000.
Restricted Breeds
Under the Control of Dogs (Restriction of Certain Dogs) Regulations 1991, additional rules were imposed in relation to the following breeds, or strains and crosses, of dog in Ireland.
· American Pit Bull Terrier
· English Pit Bull Terrier
· Staffordshire Bull Terrier
· Bull mastiff
· Dobermann Pinscher
· German Shephard
· Rhodesian Ridgeback
· Rottweiler
· Japanese Akita
· Japanese Tosa
· Bandog
The regulations state the following:
· These dogs, or strains or crosses of them must be kept on a short, strong lead by a person over 16 years of age who is capable of controlling them
· These dogs or strains or crosses of them must be muzzled whenever they are in a public place.
· These dogs or strains or crosses of them, must wear a collar bearing the name and address of their owner at all times
These rules on muzzling and leashing do not apply to dogs used by the Gardaí, the Dublin Harbour Police, State Airport Police and bona fide rescue teams in rescue operations. The rules on muzzling do not apply to guide dogs for the blind. Fines of up to €1,270 may be imposed for breaches of this legislation.