The young woman who died after being attacked by a dog in county Limerick last night has been named as Nicole Morey.
In a post on social media, Ms Morey’s sister said her heart is "shattered" following the tragedy which is believed to have happened on the 23-year-old’s birthday.
Emergency services were called to a house in the village of Fedamore in Ballyneety after 11.30pm yesterday.
Ms Morey had been fatally injured after being attacked by a dog and was declared dead at the scene.
Three dogs were removed from the house and at least one dog was destroyed by Gardaí.
Ms Morey’s body has been removed to University Hospital Limerick and a postmortem is expected to be carried out later today.
Preventing further dog attacks
Limerick Mayor Gerald Mitchell said more must be done to prevent attacks by dangerous dog breeds.
“We need further legislation to curb these unfortunate circumstances,” he said.
“I know that Minister [Heather] Humphries this morning has set up a specialist group and the quicker the legislation is brought forward, the better - to be safe for people of Limerick city and throughout Ireland.”
Justice Minister Helen McEntee offered her condolences to Ms Morey’s family and said the investigation into her death must be allowed to run its course.
“We have to make sure we allow the investigation, without prejudging what’s happened here, to take its course,” she said.
“We also need to make sure that if there are breeds of animals here that people shouldn’t have, are not safe, or pose a threat that that’s made clear.”
Garda investigation
Ms Humphreys also paid tribute to the dog attack victim’s family.
“A Garda investigation is underway and it’s important we establish the facts on what happened,” she said.
“I have consistently said that more action is required in relation to dog control.
“That’s why I have set up a cross-Governmental stakeholder group, chaired by the retired Deputy Garda Commissioner John Twomey, to examine this whole area.”
Gardaí from Roxboro Road are investigating the woman’s death and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
