3,158 people needed treatment from dog attacks between 2012 and 2022.
Renewed calls have been made for more investment in dog control.
It's after a new Irish Medical Journal study found the number of people being hospitalised for dog bites has risen by over 50 per cent since 2012.
There's been a number of high profile incidents this year, including a serious XL Bully Pitbull attack in Waterford.
The attack resulted in the hospitalisation of two women.
Figures from the study show 3,158 people needed treatment between 2012 and 2022.
The majority of people sustained open wounds, and 24 per cent were facial wounds.
42% of those who were treated in hospital underwent plastic surgery.
Sinn Féin Councillor for Waterford John Hearne says local authorities don't have the resources they need to enforce responsible dog ownership:
"We need a complete review of animal welfare, all animal welfare in Ireland, dog control is just not being taken serious by local authorities.
"They're not financed, we don't have enough of them, and there is no enforcement, and I don't think we should leave it to local authorities to do it, we need a national body."
