Ms Caroline Garvan:

That is a really important point that I would like to convey as conclusively as possible. The law did not change. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine did not change the law; rather, resistance to antithemolytic and antiparasitic medicines became a huge problem. This is a huge issue for the farming sector, farmers, productivity and sustainability. The change in the route of supply is intended to protect the efficacy of these products, which will benefit the farmer. The resistance is so high out there now that products are no longer effective on farms because they have been overused and misused. As such, no treatment is available. Our focus is to make these products prescription-only medicines to encourage better and more responsible use. We established this stakeholder group to consult with everybody. That is what we have done from the start. We are acutely aware of the economic impact of this change on the rural community. We are doing everything we can to work with farmers within the constraints of the legislation, that is, a regulation that has to be applied as it is worded. Our legal advice is that we cannot avail of this derogation at the moment. We will certainly review all the legal advice that is available to us. We have agreed to consult the Attorney General on this. That is our position. We did not change the law. Rather, the animal health situation changed.