THE REVENUE COMMISSIONERS are on the look-out for ‘confident’ and ‘not nervy or aggressive’ Labrador and Spaniel dogs as part of an estimated €1m spend on the next generation of detector dogs in the ongoing battle against the illicit trade of drugs, tobacco, cash – and vapes.
This follows the Revenue Commissioners issuing a tender for firms to provide ‘dual scented’ and ‘environmentally tolerant’ detector dogs, basic training for new Revenue dog handlers, and refresher training for experienced dog handlers.
The tender covers a five year period and Revenue will be hoping that the projected €1m spend will build on the success of the current Dog Detector team in place.
Only last, December, Revenue detector dog, Meadbh helped uncover 154kg of herbal cannabis, worth over €3m, in boxes labeled as “Kitchen Hoods” at Dublin Airport, originating from the USA while last July detector dog, Rua helped discover 110kg of cannabis in a trailer at the Port of Cork, arriving from Croatia via Belgium with an estimated street value of €2.1m.
Across 2024, Ireland’s then 26 strong team of detector dogs were instrumental in the seizure of drugs, tobacco products and cash worth over €100m.
In a recent written Dáil reply to Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh TD (SF), Minister for Finance, Simon Harris TD (FG) stated that Revenue has an allocation of 30 dogs and the cost of a detector dog team in its first year of operation is approximately €100,000.
He said: “This includes the cost of training the detector dog and its handler for the first year, and associated salaries and kennelling arrangements. For all subsequent years, the approximate operational cost is €50,000 per annum.”
Now, in the tender documentation issued, Revenue states that the Detector Dog Unit “is an integral element of our enforcement approach to tackling the threat posed to legitimate business, consumers and the exchequer by illicit trade and smuggling”.
The tender states that the detection by the dogs “have led to successful convictions and disruption to the activities of criminals”.
The tender states that Revenue’s detector dogs “are required to be trained to be ‘multi-purpose dogs’ meaning they have been trained to screen and detect humans and freight baggage, vehicles and ships”.
It states that all Revenue detector dogs “are required to be dual scented and have a ‘passive response’ whereby the dogs are trained to operate using a ‘sit and stare’ approach in the presence of controlled/prohibited substances or items such as cash, drugs including heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, ketamine, cannabis and vapes”.
On the specifications required, the Revenue are seeking Labradors and Spaniels, aged between one and 2.5 years old and dogs “must be confident, not nervy or aggressive, and social with humans and other dogs”.
The tender states that all dogs must have been subjected to physical and medical fitness tests by an authorised vet.
The tender states that over the last three years, Revenue have procured approximately 17 dogs and will potentially require a similar number over the initial term of the contract however this number may fluctuate depending on operational requirements.
The tender states that the number of dogs required per year will fluctuate and the tenderer must be able to illustrate that they can be flexible to Revenue’s requirements.
The closing date for tenders is 25 March.
