THE MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE Simon Coveney plans to introduce mandatory micro-chipping for all dogs.

Coveney said that people would have a “reasonable timeframe” to do this once it was introduced, looking to the 2016/2017 date that the UK is working towards.

The issue of cost was also addressed by the minister, who said that he would be holding discussions with the Veterinary Council of Ireland to determine whether this work could be carried out at cost, believed to be in the region of €7.50, as opposed to €40-50.

“We need to work this out with veterinary practitioners and other interested groups,” Coveney said. “We will have a consultation process before we finalise any regulation and it will involve a discussion at the committee.”

‘Progressive approach’

The ISPCA have said they are happy with Coveney’s comments on the issue, and said that they looked forward to working with the minister.

The ISPCA’s chief inspector, Conor Dowling, said that the charity group had not expected the issue to be addressed so soon. “We are delighted with this development and would like to congratulate Minister Coveney on his progressive approach to this matter,” he said.

The DSPCA also welcomed the news, saying that at any one time there can be up to 10,000 animals being sold on the internet that are sourced in Ireland and which are being bred for trafficking purposes.