Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the representatives of the CCPC for being here. Deputy Cahill and the previous speaker have covered many of the areas of interest for me with regard to the proposed amendment to legislation and the opinion of the CCPC. I will seek clarification on a few points, ask a few questions and make an observation. Would I be correct in saying that competition law and the CCPC's opinion are superseded or trumped in every case where protection of health, service provision or public interest is at stake? If Deputy Cahill is correct and we end up with no veterinary services in rural Ireland for large animals and the agricultural sector, would the necessity to provide same supersede anything the witnesses have told us or any competition laws? Can the witnesses clarify that?

The next issue follows on from Deputy Carthy's conclusion. If the status quowere to remain, as the CCPC wishes, the current opinion of the VCI were to stay in place and the proposed legislation were not introduced, there is every chance that we could end up with a monopoly or cartels within the Irish veterinary service. I thought the CCPC's role was to protect the consumer from such but I get a different impression from the submission today and the interaction with the two previous speakers. I would go so far as to agree again with Deputy Carthy - it is becoming a habit - that the CCPC seems to have more interest in protecting corporates than the consumer. We are teasing this out so I want the witnesses to come back to me on this, but the CCPC's stance will, in my opinion, lead to a monopoly and cartel in the industry. There is a strong suggestion of such in other areas which the CCPC has been approached to deal with. How, if the status quoremains, will the CCPC help to avoid that? If it happens, how will it deal with it?

In a similar vein, what if animal drug manufacturers are among the corporates that come in and buy up a number of veterinary practices, amalgamate them and give a directive to their vets, who are supposed to be independent, that they can only prescribe or sell the drugs of the parent company, which is how corporations work? This would be big business for them. How would that pan out, as Deputy Cahill asked, in an era where we are all conscious of microbial resistance? It is part of World Health Organization and One Health policy. That would affect end consumers and farmers. If we do not take action now, how does the CCPC propose we deal with a scenario like that? That would be evident in animal drug manufacturers setting up large veterinary practices by taking over smaller ones or companies whose main interest would be in animal health insurance taking over a number of veterinary practices, concentrating on the small domestic animal, dropping the large animal and the agricultural sector and leaving a void in rural Ireland. Their main emphasis at point of contact, that is, the reception, would be sale of animal health insurance as opposed to the service they provide. Do the witnesses not see major problems with that down the line? Would it not be more prudent, as Deputy Cahill is suggesting, to close the door before the horse - pardon the pun - has bolted?