Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be quite honest, I have concerns about what the Department is doing. We are leaving a body of people who are extremely experienced with the system that is in place. The Department missed a beat in 2014 and 2015 when, as I understand it, the Brits wanted Ireland to work with them. We thought it was better to drive on. The regulation now seems to be the problem.

I ask the witnesses to give us the full printout of the legal advice document. It should be standard under freedom of information. The taxpayers are paying. Our guests should look long and hard at a providing course that will allow a qualified person, for example, a person in the merchants who is qualified to give it out, to achieve a certain standard. To be clear, I am talking about doses for fluke, worms and the like; I am not talking about highly sophisticated stuff.

The decision was made a few months ago. It is abysmal to hear that the Department did not meet those qualified persons and has not met the other groups since April of last year when we are within two months of the regulation coming around the corner. The decisions were made. The deal is done with the vets. It was a bad way to behave when we talk about consultation. That is about sitting down with all the relevant parties on a constant basis to solve something. Our guests should go back and see about a course that will allow people to become qualified to a European standard and will get those people to fill the gap. Farmers, licensed merchants, vets and the representatives of the Department are all looking to ensure we give the right doses, have everything right for cattle, have them ready for export and everything. We are all in agreement. However, given the way it is being done, there is a fear out there among the farming community that it will drive some farmers out of business. Dr. Corkery mentioned earlier that 95% of farmers have fair access to vets. What about the other 5%? Do we not bother or worry about them? Are we going down the road of driving smaller farmers out the gap? If such farmers had an unfortunate situation whereby they had to call vets on different occasions in order to get stuff, it would put them out of business. I think our guests need to go back and do some thinking.