Barking up the wrong fee? Dublin’s unlicenced dogs cost the city up to €1 million
Non-compliance for dog licences across Dublin city amounts to an estimated €1 million annually that could be redirected toward local animal welfare services and dog-friendly infrastructure.
That’s according to Councillor Nial Ring who lodged a query to Dublin City Council requesting details on the compliance, fines, and education plans regarding dog ownership across the city. He stated that national pet ownership trends suggest there could be as much as 60,000 dogs within the administrative area, and with less than 10,000 dog licences issued, this means the compliance rate stands at around 16%.
The Chief Executive's reply revealed that Animal Welfare Wardens issued 441 notices to provide proof of dog licences in 2025. Of these 287 licences were produced, and 120 fines were issued, with the remaining voided for reasons such as false information provided.
A dog licence costs €20 per year, with a lifetime licence available for €140, and a general or multidog licence for €400. Although this is mandatory for all dogs over four months old, the statistics show that the majority of pet owners risk being fined and go without.
Cllr Ring spoke to Dublin Live about the potential that lost revenue has to improve services for dogs around Dublin. He cited an upcoming motion from Green Party Cllr Feljin Jose calling for at least one dog off-leash area in each local electoral area within Dublin City Council .
While Cllr Ring supports that motion, he said it “needs to be a two-way street” and dog owners “can’t get everything” if such a small portion of people have the “bother to buy a licence for 20 quid.” “If we got that million, we could provide whatever you want.”
“We’d have dog puppy parlours and beautiful salons for dogs if we had that million,” Cllr Ring joked. A major part of the problem is a lack of enforcement, which Cllr Ring feels helps encourage a type of “post-colonial non-compliance” that’s been ingrained in Irish people.
While he said there’s been a noticeable improvement in recent years of pet owners taking responsibility for dog fouling and cleaning up after themselves, this hasn’t yet extended to the widespread acceptance of mandatory dog licences. He stressed that money collected from licences could be ringfenced to directly improve life for dogs in Dublin.
Currently there is a compliance unit that the council said regularly conducted door-to-door operations around the city to provide licences. This unit also attends educational and community events to spread a message of responsible dog ownership and teach children and adults alike about the need for licences and microchipping.
Wardens also attended 22 schools across the city last year to speak about responsible dog ownership to students. A similar roster of events is currently being prepared for 2026.
While Cllr Ring said 100% compliance is unlikely when it comes to licences, he believes that with more awareness the number of people who currently have one would dramatically increase. As licence fees help fund local dog wardens and shelters, it is in dog lovers’ interest to have one.
Dog owners can apply for a licence in their local Post Office or online at licences.ie .
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme