The funding is being provided in order to assist animal welfare charities with the new microchipping initiative programme that was launched earlier this year. The microchipping programme will be rolled out on a phased basis, beginning with pups in September 2015 and expanding to all dogs in March 2016.

The Minister said, “I am making €100,000 available in order to facilitate the microchipping of dogs. Charities with a proven track record in this work are eligible to apply for funding from my Department under this measure.”

Under the new regulations dog owners must ensure that:

1) All pups born from June 2015 onwards must be microchipped by the age of 12 weeks

2) You must have a certificate from government approved database such as Fido to prove that your dog has been microchipped and registered on the database

3) Any changes of ownership or contact details such as address or phone number must be notified to the database

The news will be particularly welcome to sheep farmers, for whom attacks by dogs on their sheep are a constant worry.

The latest statistics collated by IFA indicate that the problem of dog attacks on sheep may be in the order of 300 to 400 attacks per annum, with 3,000 to 4,000 sheep injured and killed. Data on dog attacks gathered by the IFA shows that an average of over 11 sheep are killed or injured per attack.

Last year the IFA launched a protocol to help farmers who encounter a dog attack on their sheep flock. The protocol involves a 10-point Plan of Action covering what a farmer should do following a dog attack or sheep kill.

In April Mairead Berkery, a vet working at the Avondale Vet Clinic in Arklow, Co Wicklow, wrote in the Irish Farmers Journal, about a sheep attack on a farm where the farmer caught the dog and the owners were able to be traced, due to the fact the dog had been micro-chipped.

When the farmer confronted the owners, they were forced to admit liability and to pay the costs incurred by the farmer.

Berkery says this microchipping programme will benefit the welfare of all dogs and will allow lost dogs to be swiftly reunited with their owners. "From a farming perspective, it will act as a much-needed deterrent to irresponsible owners. It will also reduce the incidence of wandering dogs introducing neospora, a protozoal parasite spread through dog faeces causing abortion in cattle," she said.

It is important to note the success of this new regulation requires vigilance in terms of keeping contact details up-to-date on the authorised databases. Changes of ownership or of contact details must be notified to the database in order to make owners liable for their dogs.

As a point of note for people buying, selling or transferring ownership of dogs:

1) From September 2015 onwards all pups being offered for sale must be identified by way of microchip before they reach 12 weeks of age

2) It is illegal to buy or take ownership of a pup that is not microchipped and registered on a government approved database

3) You must inform a government approved database when you buy, sell, take ownership or transfer ownership of a dog