Mayor welcomes funding for dog wardens in Kilkenny

Mayor Andrew McGuinness has welcomed a funding announcement of €2million for local authorities across the country to employ an additional 40 Dog Wardens and is urging Kilkenny County Council to submit an application.

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, and Minister of State with Responsibility for Local Government and Planning, Alan Dillon TD announced the funding this week.

“As Mayor and indeed as Chairman of our Animal Welfare Committee, I’m delighted to welcome this funding as it recognises the increased demands in the area of dog control and the good work carried out by our dog wardens and our shelter at Paulstown. Our wardens are often under resourced and extremely busy so additional wardens will help relieve that work load and improve the service,” said Mayor Andrew McGuinness.

“This will also help in the area of animal cruelty or neglect. Thankfully such cases have decreased in recent years in Kilkenny but with an additional warden we can really stay on top of that and ensure positive animal welfare is always a top priority,” he said.

 Announcing the funding today, Minister Humphreys said:

“Public safety is my number one priority, this funding will help each local authority to ensure they have the necessary number of dog wardens in place. 

“I have already trebled the fines for a range of offences. Whether it’s in our towns, villages or cities, there should be zero tolerance for people who do not keep their dogs under proper control in public spaces. I’ve asked Local Authorities to begin the process of increasing the number of dog wardens as soon as possible.”

 Minister Darragh O’Brien added:

“Local authorities play a vital role in the enforcement of our laws on dog control, and it is important that each Local Authority has the necessary resources to support dog wardens services.

“I fully recognise the additional demands in this area, and the need to ensure that there are sufficient services in place to meet these demands. This funding will help achieve that.”

 Minister Alan Dillon, Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, also welcomed the funding:

“We must protect our communities from dangerous dogs, I am confident this allocation will support the enforcement of new dog control measures at a local level, and ensure that authorities can continue to meet the growing challenges in this area.”