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

If Mr. Forde could do so, it would be good because serious questions are emerging and we do not have much time in the overall scheme of things. We are talking about people planning their businesses who must deal with stocks, sometimes orders and sometimes medical information. All of that is dealt with in matters of years as opposed to months so the longer there is confusion on these matters, the more difficulties there will be. I would have thought that a basic position would have been what the Government's position on or understanding of the regulation was when it was first agreed. That would have been useful. Was it brought it before Cabinet? Was the Cabinet informed about the fact that this regulation was being agreed and that it could have a large impact on businesses, veterinary practices and pharmacists? Mr. Forde spoke about the comprehensive consultation and engagement undertaken by the Department. I am not denying that there has been some but I suggest that it has not been as robust as it should perhaps have been.

I tabled a parliamentary question in July to the then Minister, Deputy Cowen. He responded that in respect of this legislation, the Department was working on the matter and the intention was to have those in the sector designated as responsible persons. Subsequent to that, it transpired that it was either never the Department's intention to do that or we are at a point where it is impossible to do that because the regulation will not allow for a derogation. The focus that should have been there at Department level was not there and we need to get to the point where we are seeking and addressing a regulation.

I have a written response to a question by the Sinn Féin MEP, Chris MacManus, to the European Commission about the derogation. The Commission said that it is up to a particular member state to confirm whether the conditions of the derogation of Article 105(4) of EU Regulation on Veterinary Medicinal Products EU 2019/6 are met. That does not sound like a European Commission that is ready to stick the boot in. I dealt with written responses from the Commission for five years. I know there is a factor of influence in terms of its written responses on these matters. Essentially, what it is saying is that it will trust us to do the right thing. That is what is in this response but the Department is taking the easy road rather than trying to facilitate the businesses and people about whom we spoke. We can hear the passion in these people's voices because it is their livelihoods about which we are talking. They are under threat of closure or of losing their jobs.

We heard other Deputies talk about the impact of this on farmers. We have heard and we know that there are vets around the country who will be handed extra responsibility and business they have not even looked for. They are already under severe pressure. My request to Mr. Forde and the Department is to go back to the drawing board. They are coming at this from a position whereby this cannot be done. They need to flip that on its head and look at how we make can it happen. It is within the Department's gift. All it takes is a strong Government position on this because the Commission will develop a lot of regulations over the next number of years with regard to antimicrobial resistance and other issues and knows that it needs the co-operation and support of member states to be able to have a strong position on all those matters. Do not leave a bad taste in people's mouths in respect of this issue, which would be fairly benign and simple to address. My call is for us to go back to the drawing board and resolve this. It is within our gift to do that.