Importance of responsible dog ownership stressed at Kildare County Council meeting

An in-depth conversation concerning responsible dog ownership was discussed at the latest Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District (MD) meeting.

The topic came up in relation to a motion which was submitted by Fianna Fáil Cllr Suzanne Doyle, who attended the latest meeting on Wednesday, September 17 last.

Specifically, Cllr Doyle motioned for Kildare County Council (KCC) to request both The Department of Defence and Curragh Racecourse "to put in place signage in relevant locations on The Curragh, requiring dogs to be under control and on a leash".

In response to Cllr Doyle’s motion, KCC said that this would be a matter for the members to agree upon.

All councillors present at the meeting appeared to express support for the motion except for one — Fianna Fáil Cllr Brian O’Loughlin.

He subsequently went on to explain his difference of opinion: "I agree with the 'under control part' of the motion, but not necessarily the 'on a leash' part... there are very few parts of the county where you can actually take your dog off leash.

Cllr O'Loughlin added that he was of the belief that the motion should just leave the request at "requiring dogs to be under control" and drop the "on a leash" part.

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Cllr Doyle replied that there may be difficulty in enforcing Cllr O'Loughlin specific suggestion.

She also pointed out past incidents of off-leash dogs worrying sheep on The Curragh, and even one incident where a person was attacked by a dog.

Mayor of the MD, Fianna Fáil Cllr Noel Heavey, also told Cllr O'Loughlin: "It’s a grey area."

However, after some deliberation, it was eventually agreed to write to the Department using Cllr O'Loughlin’s suggestion.

Clarifying the comments following the meeting, Cllr O'Loughlin told the Leinster Leader: "I am not objecting to [the idea of] a dog on a leash, but I feel if your dog is under control, as in, it will return to its owner when called, it should be allowed to run freely.

"There are very few places where it is safe to do this and an open area like The Curragh is ideal."

"Also it would be very difficult for the sheep farmers to operate if they have to keep their sheep dog on a leash," he added.

Cllr Brian O'Loughlin. Photograph credit: Kildarecoco.ie

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