Mr. Conor Geraghty:

As for whether Veterinary Ireland will engage with regard to resistance, we are engaging. We are a member of the antiparasitic resistance stakeholder group and have committed to that. We have also been very engaged with iNAP, which has been operating for longer. We have taken part in, and led, some of the changes and some of the farmer guidelines that have emerged from that. There is no question that Veterinary Ireland will engage.

To respond to Deputy Fitzmaurice, there will always be individuals who try to gain a commercial edge in any sector. It is not limited to the veterinary sector but there is a good deal of competition within the sector at the moment. Some of the products we deal with have the tightest margins of any prescription-only medicine products. I am sure some of the committee members from the south will concur with that. Products such as Bovivac S and Rotavec Corona are very tightly priced and are prescription only.

Farmers can choose their vet and can change their choice every day if they wish, especially in the area of the country where the Deputy and I come from, where there is ample choice. Farmers will work with vets who help them manage their livestock and provide them with a service, and this will be just another part of that service. In fairness, our discussion about market shares shows that the majority of farmers are already using their vets to engage, to be advised and to make the correct choices on farms. They also buy some of that product at other locations such as co-operatives or licensed merchants.

All in all, in the common model that exists on the ground, there is no divisiveness between farmers and vets. Farmers and vets, especially at this time of the year, depend on each other and are in regular contact. There is a difference between this part of the island and the other side of the Border. We as an agrifood industry in the Republic depend on exporting 90% of our food to third markets, whether Russia, China, South Korea or the US, to survive. Farmers in the North have the English population to feed, so they are not as heavily dependent on exports. When food is being exported, reputation is key. We have a more stringent regulatory system here. It is common knowledge, and has been highlighted recently by the Irish Farmers' Journal, that there is a more lax system in the North. The Irish name, when we engage in trade missions and or when food audits come here from third countries, is worth an awful lot because we are probably a bit more heavily regulated than some countries that do not depend on exports. That is the space we are in because we need to export food and to ensure that we are best in class.