Puppy farms face bigger fines for welfare breaches

New strategy aims to improve animal welfare standards. Picture: ISPCA

Puppy farms will face larger fines for welfare breaches and local authorities will be given stronger dog control powers under a new animal protection strategy.

The five-year animal welfare strategy will be launched on Tuesday and include enhanced oversight of dog control, stronger enforcement, improved traceability, and public awareness initiatives.

Agriculture minister Martin Heydon will launch the strategy which brings together Government, local authorities, farmers, animal owners, vets, and animal welfare organisations, to continue improving animal welfare standards through science and evidence-led policymaking, effective legislation, stronger enforcement, and greater public awareness.

The plan aims to increase the number of dogs that are microchipped and will consider the rollout of stronger powers for dog wardens.

It will also look at increased awareness and support for urban horse projects and engaging with relevant Government departments through a dedicated working group to address the regulation of horse-drawn vehicles on public roads.

Reviving town centres

Meanwhile, a new retail activation programme to revive town centres by turning empty shopfronts into new local businesses is being proposed by minister of state with responsibility for retail Alan Dillon.

The plans, which are now being worked up by department officials, would see local authorities and local enterprise offices work more closely to engage property owners, identify prospective occupiers, and connect viable businesses with suitable premises.

Under the plan, 26 pilot towns would be asked to identify priority vacant buildings that could be brought back into use and those hoping to use the spaces would be offered tailored local supports, practical business advice, financial mentoring, and marketing assistance.

Student accommodation

Separately, further and higher education minister James Lawless will inform Government of the publication of two expressions of interest under the Higher Education Student Accommodation Programme, a key element of his National Student Accommodation Strategy 2026-2035, which aims to support the delivery of 42,000 new student beds by 2035 and improve access to affordable student accommodation.

The first expression of interest covers four on-campus developments on Technological University Dublin's Grangegorman campus, Munster Technological University Cork, Atlantic Technological University Galway and the Institute of Art, Design and Technology Dún Laoghaire. The projects have the potential to deliver up to 3,300 new student beds.

A second expression of interest is seeking proposals for off-campus purpose-built student accommodation developments in Dublin, Cork, and Galway, widening the pipeline of projects that can help deliver additional student housing in Ireland's largest higher education centres.

The programme will be expanded in phases, with University College Cork, University of Galway, Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University among the institutions being progressed for future stages, while development work is also advancing in Waterford, Limerick, and Athlone.

National planning statement

Separately, the Government will approve the issuing of a national planning statement on short-term letting by housing minister James Browne.

The planning statement seeks to ensure a clear overall policy approach for councils across the country so that planning rules are applied consistently when councils are determining applications for short-term letting.

A threshold-based approach to consenting by councils will be applied, which will act as an effective ban on new planning permissions for short-term lets in larger towns and cities with a population in excess of 20,000, where the housing shortage is at its most acute.

For more rural or less population dense areas of the country, the approach being set out is that short term lets will be ‘considered’ by councils for permission to operate rather than the flat ban of new short-term lets that will be seen in cities.

Short-term let providers will be permitted to avail of an extended period to meet the planning consenting requirements.

Mr Browne has said he understands that there are genuine concerns in some tourism dependent communities regarding the impacts on local economies arising from removing a cohort of properties from the short-term letting market.

However, he pointed out that his priority has to be in meeting the local housing need, including in rural communities, and that the housing crisis and a shortage of available homes impacts tourism areas as well as towns and cities.