Woman (23) dies after dog attack at house in Co Limerick

A woman has died after being attacked by a dog in Co Limerick.

The victim (23) was attacked by the dog at a house in Ballyneety, Co Limerick. The incident occurred at 11.40pm on Tuesday night.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.

Her body has been removed from the scene to Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, where a postmortem will take place.

The animal believed to be involved in the incident has now been destroyed. A number of other dogs have been seized, a Garda statement said.

An investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Roxboro Road Garda station on (061) 214 340, the Garda Confidential line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.

The attack came hours after gardaí issued an alert about a dog attack on a nine-year-old boy in Limerick city on May 29th.

Sgt Ber Leetch of the Crime Prevention Office at Henry Street Garda station said the boy had to go to hospital to be treated for facial injuries.

“Nobody wants this to happen so be responsible for your dog,” Sgt Leetch advised dog owners. “Protect your dog but also protect any people it may come in contact with.

“You must know your dog and know if they are on the restricted dog breeds list, so look at the Dogs.ie website if you are not sure,” she said.

“There are rules that must be followed, restricted breeds of dogs must wear a muzzle in public, be on a short lead, wear a collar with owners’ information on it, and the person controlling the dog must be over 16 years of age. These rules are in place to protect everybody including the dog.”

Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys, who has responsibility for dog legislation, said she was “absolutely appalled” by the news.

“I want to begin by expressing my deepest sympathies to her family in what is a deeply shocking incident,” she added. “A Garda investigation is under way and it’s important we establish the facts on what happened. I have consistently said that more action is required in relation to dog control.”

A Government-established group chaired by retired Deputy Garda Commissioner John Twomey is examining the area of increased dog controls.

There are no banned breeds in Ireland but a number of breeds have restrictions attached to them. The breeds are American pit bull terrier, English bull terrier, Staffordshire bull terries, bull mastiff, Doberman pinscher, German shepherd (Alsatian), Rhodesian ridgeback, Rottweiler, Japanese akita, Japanese tosa and the bandog.

These breeds have to be kept on a short, strong lead controlled by somebody over 16, be muzzled in a public place and also have a collar with the name and address of their owners at all times.

Ms Humphreys said she has asked the group to examine the restricted breeds list, in line with actions being taken in the UK and Northern Ireland.

“I am committed to working with colleagues across Government in taking whatever action is necessary to strengthen our dog control laws,” she said.