Ms Niamh Muldoon:

I do hear the Senator's point and the truth is that the Veterinary Council of Ireland has no legal power to regulate ownership. I fully accept that was in the code of conduct prior to 2018 but, to the question of whether the council could have taken any action against any individual practice whether veterinary-owned or otherwise at that time, the answer is "No" because the legislation does not give us the power to do so.