Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said he is committed to leaving no stone unturned in a bid to ensure that the ewes and lambs of Ireland are safe in their fields.

Speaking at the ICSA AGM on Thursday 9 February, he said that the issue of uncontrolled dogs attacking sheep and other livestock has unfortunately become a “hardy annual”.

“It’s not an easy situation to solve, given the various layers and strands to the problem.

“Late last year, the Taoiseach, now Tánaiste, tasked me with leading a Government response to the control of dogs. Minister of Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys and I met, where we established a working group to examine how we can effectively deal with all the various aspects of the control of dogs,” he said.

The working group has met three times now, according to the minister, and an interim report is due from the group before the end of February.