Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 12 November 2020

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Regulation on Veterinary Medicinal Products: Discussion

Photo of Matt CarthyMatt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for a very informative opening statements and contributions. This is a mess that should not have arisen and needs to be addressed.

I have some questions for the ILMA. There has been discussion on the role vets will be expected to play following the implementation of this regulation if it comes into place in 2022. How actively are vets involved in addressing antiparasitic resistance? What is the EU timetable, as the ILMA understands it, for the derogation to remain available for Ireland to use?

The IPU statement refers at length to the supply of veterinary medicines to animal owners and how it reflects the counter-prescribing of medicines to human patients. I ask the witnesses to elaborate on this statement so that we can get a picture of their professional opinion on how the current supply of medicines by non-vets to animal owners amounts to counter-prescribing and exactly what counter-prescribing is. Does the IPU believe counter-prescribing is actual prescribing? Do pharmacists and those in those in the LM sector essentially prescribe veterinary medical products in this manner? That will be interesting for our later conversation with departmental officials.

I believe that the derogation is available to Ireland. It is a matter of great regret that we are at this point where the committee needs to deal with such an issue, which is threatening many important businesses to our rural communities and putting them under severe strain at a time they have enough to be concerned about.

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