Have the rules changed? It used to be that pet passports weren't needed despite the law change, and yet this page says "If you want to import a dog, cat or ferret into Ireland from any EU member state including the UK, the pet animal must have an EU Pet Passport, (this document is the same throughout the EU). and that the dog needs to be vaccinated against rabies.

In the past the link to the Defra page contained the statement "As both the Republic of Ireland and the UK have had no indigenous rabies for many decades, compliance checks on pets travelling between the two countries will not be applied. Pet owners travelling with their pets should therefore not experience any change on the ground from the 1 January." but that seems to have since been removed.

I hope not as that will mean another cost to my trip in August.

I can't see any reasoning for it, will it work the other way as it should if coming in from Ireland to the UK!!

We recently visited Dublin and were not asked for a pet passport or any other paperwork

As the rules for traveling with pets were harmonised in January 2012 you SHOULD have a passport issued for travel to Ireland.  DEFRA have said as both are rabies free there should be no change to checks at ports however if you don't have a passport and are checked you could be refused travel.
K

>DEFRA have said as both are rabies free there should be no change to checks at ports

They're not saying that now, though. It's not on their website and a client has it in writing from them that a passport is needed.

Someone who travels there frequently says that a passport is needed, but that it's never checked. This is very confusing; I don't know what to advise this client.

Entering and exiting via Northern Ireland would negate the need for a pet passport. 

ETA - that's just a general comment.  Probably doesn't help your client of travel is already booked.

An excellent point - I'll put that option to them. :-)

Well that's just stupid.
You can go from the mainland UK to NI and then travel into Ireland without a passport? Why not direct how on earth would that make any difference, would any bugs loose themselves in NI??

Contact DEFRA and ask. Maybe they are clamping down? or if not, maybe they want the right to clamp down when they feel like it?

I had run-ins with them when they were MAFF and the right hand didn't know what the left was doing - this was under the Balai Directive and it was more than scary, I couldn't even get it out of them in writing what I was meant to do.

This topic has come up before.  They state you need one, but they don't check for it.

When this first can in DEFRA were very unclear and would only say that YES you need a passport but that as both countries are rabies free in practice travellers should see no change in practice. Personally  I would just get a passport issued without the rabies vaccine, this can be done as had to have one to send a pup to Canada. Too young for vaccine but needed it to enter country and for airline to check fit to travel. JMHO

I have never had my documentation checked when traveling to Ireland but as mine all have passports they are with me just in case.

I've sent emails to Defra and the Irish equivalent.

JG I've had a reply from the Irish by email and the said you need a passport but won't be checking on the route between the UK and Eire... I'm awaiting a reply from Defra now too

Suspect that is as much as you will get, no one I know has ever had any more.

That's brilliant, suejaw; very helpful! :-) But what an annoyingly confusing system! Owners have to fork out getting on for £100 for something that'll never be looked at.