Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) sheep chair Adrian Gallagher has issued a strong condemnation of the outgoing government’s work on addressing dog attacks on sheep, saying that “robust measures” are needed.

Gallagher spoke after recent incidents saw 20 sheep killed or put down in Cork in the aftermath of a dog attack, while the same happened another seven sheep in a separate incident in Clare.

The sheep chair said that these attacks highlight a “failure from government to put actions in place to deal with irresponsible dog ownership across the country”.

“It’s a national crisis that needs a solution immediately. The time for talking is over, dog attacks on livestock have reached unprecedented levels and farmers have had enough,” he stated.

“The current systems in place are failing to protect farmers and their livestock. The level of sanctions that are in place do not reflect the level trauma these dogs are causing.”

Gallagher claimed that the lack of a centralised database used to record incidents and owners associated with dog attacks, as well as a lack of enforcement of existing rules, are escalating the issue.

He cited figures that show only 311 prosecutions have been brought by local authorities against dog owners for attacks in 2023, when a little over a third of 1,858 on-the-spot fines were actually paid.