Senator Burke welcomes Service Dogs of Ireland Seminar to Cork

Fine Gael Senator for Cork North Central, Senator Colm Burke has called for a renewed focus on the provision of service dogs in Ireland ahead the Service Dogs of Ireland Seminar which will be held in the Corrin Event Centre, Fermoy, Co. Cork, next month. Senator Burke was speaking today at the press launch of the conference.

“This conference aims to dramatically increase the training and use of service dogs across Ireland. Service dogs can be hugely beneficial for the deaf, those with life altering conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, genetic syndromes, cerebral palsy, stroke patients, paralysis as well as other disabilities.

“Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind was established in 1976 and has evolved its service to include mobility and assistance dogs. Over the last seven years a number of other charities have been established in the canine charity field.   Irish Guide Dogs Assistance programme was the first of its kind in Europe. However, Ireland has now gone from leading the field to trailing behind due to the amount of disabilities covered, the extension to medical detection dogs and the most pressing problem of huge waiting lists across all assistance dog charities.

“The advance of the assistance dog sector and consolidation of the service dog sector is now lower in Ireland than in countries in Latin America. When similar seminars have been held there, they have seen major advances, especially in the Dog Therapy area. We need to highlight the positive effects that assistance animals have. This conference provides a great opportunity to explore how the provision of service dogs in Ireland can be improved.”