A total of 17,695 dogs were "humanely destroyed" by county and city councils last year, the Minister for the Environment said, writes Michael O'Regan.
Mr Roche was replying to a series of written questions from Mr Michael Ring (FG, Mayo). Kerry, with 1,403 dogs, and Clare, with 1,401, topped the list.
Mr Roche said that under the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 and 1982, county and city councils were responsible for operating dog control and licensing services. "The legislation requires local authorities to appoint dog wardens and to arrange for the provision of shelters for stray and unwanted dogs," he said.
"The proceeds from the sale of licences, less the commission charged by An Post, are available to local authorities to fund, or to assist in funding, their dog control services. It is a matter for each local authority to decide on the level of additional resources, if any, to be applied to these services."
Mr Roche added that the Control of Dogs Act 1986 provided that if a seized dog had not been returned to its owner after five days, it might be "disposed of, or destroyed, in a humane manner".
There was no information available, he added, regarding the costs of destroying, or the cost of keeping the dogs before their disposal or destruction. "My Department has no funding line for the provision of shelters for stray dogs and, therefore, no grants were allocated or paid in 2003," he said.