Ms Paula Barry Walsh:

I thank the Senator for his comments. They are very much appreciated. I refer to the chief veterinary officer, CVO, who is not here to speak for himself. I know nothing about his joining the Irish veterinary union. To be clear, the Veterinary Council of Ireland is the organisation we mentioned earlier. It is a statutory body under the aegis of this Department. I am on the Veterinary Council of Ireland, and for transparency, I am glad to be able to make that point. As was said earlier, it is a body that deals with the regulation of veterinary personnel registrants - vets and nurses. My work on that is not related to Department work; it is more to do with its work.

My colleagues have said we can make any letters related to EU Regulation 2019/6 available. I will let my colleague deal with the regulatory impact assessment and other queries raised.