The woman who died following a dog attack in Co Limerick on Tuesday evening has been named as Nicole Morey, who had just celebrated her 23rd birthday.
She was originally from the north side of Limerick city.
A garda investigation is under way following the incident, which happened at a house near the village of Ballyneety, a rural area around 12km from Limerick city, at around 11.40pm last night.
Her body was taken to University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out. There was no one else at the premises at the time.
It is understood she was living in a house between Ballyneety and Fedamore, along with her partner and a number of dogs.
The animal involved in the incident is understood to be an XL bully dog.
The dog was put down following the incident by the Armed Support Unit, who were called to assist at the scene.
Three dogs suspected to be from a restricted breed were seized from the property.
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Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys said her thoughts and prayers were with the woman’s family as they come to terms with such a “tragic loss”, adding that the incident is now subject to a garda investigation to establish the facts.
Ms Humphreys said she has been “working very hard” on the issue of dog control.
“I have set up a cross-Governmental stakeholder group, chaired by the retired deputy garda commissioner John Twomey, to examine this whole area. That group’s work is under way.”
She said she has asked the group to examine carefully the issue of restricted breeds.
“I’ve asked them to look at whether we should follow the example in Northern Ireland in the UK and what I can clearly say is if they recommend to me that we should ban a particular breed, I’m happy to do that,” Ms Humphreys said.
She also said she has initiated a huge public awareness campaign on dog ownership and responsible dog ownership, adding that fines in relation to dogs have also been increased.
Asked when the work of the stakeholder group will be completed, Ms Humphreys said: “They have already started that work and they’ve had a number of meetings.”
She added she will be speaking with the chair again to get an update on what progress is being made.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee described the incident “truly horrific” and expressed her “sincerest condolences to this poor woman and her family.”
Ms McEntee said it is important that an investigation now takes place to establish what led to the “really, really tragic incident.”
Speaking in Dublin this morning, she also said it is important that the work of the cross-governmental stakeholder group examining dog control is “completed as quickly as possible”.
“We also need to make sure that if there are breeds of animals here that people shouldn’t have or that are not safe or that pose a threat to our society, that that is made very clear.”
Mayor of Limerick Ger Mitchell expressed his shock at the woman’s death.
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He said the number of dog attacks is concerning and suggested it is time to revisit Ireland’s restricted dog regulations to examine if some breeds of dogs should be prohibited altogether.
Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick and Minister of State Niall Collins said the community of Ballyneety is in complete shock at the news and appealed to anyone with information to help gardaí with their inquiries into what he described as “this truly horrific incident”.
He said it demonstrates how Ireland needs to keep its restricted dogs legislation and regulations under constant focus.
Under the Control of Dogs Regulations, there are rules that restrict ownership and controls of several dog breeds including American and English Pit Bulls, Dobermans and German Shepherds.
Any dog on the restricted dog breed list must be kept on a strong lead by a person over 16, must be muzzled at all times in public places and must always wear a collar bearing the name and address of the owner.
Gardaí have appealed for anyone with information on the incident to contact Roxboro Road Garda Station on 061 214 340, the Garda Confidential line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station.
Additional reporting Fergal O’Brien