Sligo County Council urged to hire more dog wardens as councillors warn of ‘serious issue’
The Sligo Champion“We need additional dog wardens, it is something we should be looking at, it is a serious issue,” was the firm message from Cllr Donal Gilroy when he addressed the June meeting of Sligo County Council in relation to his motion.
Cllr Gilroy’s motion stated, “That Sligo County Council, following confirmation by the Minister for Agriculture that his department has committed to continue funding in 2026 and making a further €2m available to local authorities to assist with the employment of dog wardens. Revise the Dog Control policies as a matter of urgency and increase the dog warden services across the country. That this policy is included in the 2027 budget consideration so that it can be enforced from January 2027.”
Speaking to the motion, Cllr Gilroy noted, “There has been an awful lot of incidents this year,” and referred to a recent incident where a neighbour of his shot a dog who had been brought to the area by its owner.
The motion continued: “We have reached a situation where not only are farmers suffering the loss of farm animals to dog attacks, but also irresponsible dog owners allow their dogs to misbehave in public places with injury caused to both domestic dogs and humans.”
“Cllr Gilroy added, “Every dog should have a licence but at a minimum it should have a chip.”
Pouring cold water on Cllr Gilroy’s request for an additional dog warden, Director of Services Jim Molloy said, “The funding allocated last year is insufficient to take on an additional warden.”
Supporting the motion Cllr Arthur Gibbons stated, “We need another dog warden, damage is being done to sheep.”
Cllr Gibbons queried whether money generated from the sale of dog licences, goes directly to Revenue or if it comes back to the Local Authority.”
In reply to this query Chief Executive Martin Lydon confirmed, “It comes back to the Council.”
Talking about the benefits of having dog wardens Cllr Gibbons added, “The introduction of dog wardens has made a big difference to society. You don’t see stray dogs wandering around any more.”
Cllr Gino O’Boyle also spoke in favour of the motion but added a word of caution as he insisted dog owners must be aware of their personal responsibility with regard to having a dog.
“I support the motion, but a lot comes down to the owners. If you can’t look after your dog you shouldn’t have one,” said Cllr O’Boyle.
Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.