Ms Niamh Muldoon:

Good evening Vice Chairman, Deputies and Senators. I am registrar and CEO of the Veterinary Council of Ireland. I am joined today by Mr. Joe Moffitt, president, and Dr. Ailís Ní Riain, deputy president of the veterinary council. On behalf of the council, we welcome the opportunity to discuss the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021 with the Oireachtas joint committee and thank the members for the invitation to appear before them today.

The veterinary council is the statutory body responsible for the regulation and management of the veterinary professions, being veterinary practitioners and veterinary nurses in Ireland. The Veterinary Council of Ireland is a statutory body set up under the Veterinary Practice Act 2005, as amended, and is under the aegis of the Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine. The principal function of the council is to regulate the practice of veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing in the Republic of Ireland in the interests of animal health and welfare and veterinary public health. The functions of the veterinary council include protection of the public through the supervision of veterinary education, the maintenance of the register of veterinary practitioners and veterinary nurses, the registration of veterinary premises, and through disciplinary action in cases of professional misconduct.

One point we wish to make clear at the outset is that the veterinary council does not express a view one way or the other on the desirability or otherwise of a restriction on ownership of the sort proposed. Rather we fully acknowledge this is a policy issue for the Houses of the Oireachtas. What we hope to do is to identify some of the practical and other issues that may arise in an effort to assist the committee in its considerations. The council acknowledges it is a wholly a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas to adopt legislation that facilitates the regulation of the practice of veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing in a manner that is in the best interests of the public and maintains high standards in the practice of veterinary medicine. In addition, the council respects the role reserved exclusively for the Houses of the Oireachtas to determine matters of policy regarding public interest and animal health and welfare. Our principal function is to regulate and manage the practice of veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing in the State in the public interest in accordance with the legislation.

The proposed amendments contained in the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021 include some significant changes to the ownership of veterinary practices. The matter of ownership of veterinary practices has not been addressed in Irish legislation heretofore. The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1931 and the Veterinary Practice Act 2005 do not speak to ownership of veterinary practices. The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1931 included a prohibition on corporate bodies practising veterinary medicine. While we can only speculate on the intent of any such legislation it may be that such provision was to ensure that any person suffering losses arising from the actions of a registered person in the practice of veterinary medicine were afforded the opportunity for redress against any individual, preventing the evasion of civil liability by any individual. The legal requirement for veterinary practitioners to hold a policy of professional indemnity insurance was introduced in 2012 under the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Act 2012, thereby addressing matters relating to civil liability in the public interest. In contemplation of the Veterinary Practice Act 2005, there may have also been some intention regarding the taxable income structures in operation. Historically, section 54(2) of the Veterinary Practitioners Act 2005 was interpreted to prevent a body corporate from owning a veterinary practice. However, legal advice received by the council advised that the legislation does not speak to the ownership of practices and, thus, the council has no legal authority in determining the ownership of practices under current legislation. The council has in the past been incorrectly painted as the villain in matters regarding ownership of veterinary practices. No legislation to date has addressed the issue of veterinary practice ownership. The council can act only on the powers conferred in law in the interest of animal health and welfare, public interest and public health. The council has no legal powers over the regulation of the market regarding corporate ownership of veterinary practices. The parameters of our powers, as established under the Veterinary Practitioners Act 2005, do not extend to ownership. No legislation previously enacted by the Oireachtas has dealt with the matter of ownership of veterinary practices. Irrespective of approach to ownership of veterinary practices, the council must and will continue to ensure the highest standards of veterinary medicine in the regulation and management of the professions.

The question of corporate ownership and other forms of legal ownership, and the linked issue of lay ownership, have been topics of some debate within the profession in recent years. In this regard, the council engaged Grant Thornton to carry out a significant consultation process in 2019, following which it published in July 2019 a report entitled Analysis of the VCI Consultation on Corporate Ownership of Veterinary Practices, which will be referred to as the Grant Thornton report, a copy of which has been provided to the committee. We commend this report to the committee and urge that it be considered in detail as it contains much useful background and contextual material. Importantly, it makes clear that a significant number of veterinary practices are, in fact, incorporated, that is, they are companies. It is against this backdrop we appear to inform and assist the committee in its consideration of legislation. The sole objective of the council is to continue to be a trusted and effective regulator and to assist the committee in any policy considerations to ensure practicable, durable and enforceable legislation in the public interest.

We reiterate the point that the council does not express a view one way or the other on the desirability or otherwise of a restriction on ownership of the sort proposed. Rather we fully acknowledge that this is a policy issue for the Houses of the Oireachtas. Our hope is to identify some of the practical and other issues that may arise in an effort to assist and inform the committee. We as a veterinary council currently hold no information on the ownership of veterinary practices as we have no legal basis to make any such request for information. We currently issue what are referred to as certificates of suitability, as deemed appropriate, to applications from registered persons for specified veterinary practice premises, which meet regulations and standards as laid down by the council. We collect data and information on any registered persons associated with any veterinary practice, the nature of the veterinary services offered, confirmation of professional indemnity policies held and other such relevant information. We do not have any information on the owner of a single veterinary practice currently in the country.

It appears that there may well be a significant issue regarding pre-existing corporate structures where there are already owners, that is, shareholders, who are not registered veterinary practitioners. It would appear from the proposed amendment that they would be committing a criminal offence by reason of the simple expedient of their ownership. It is not clear if this is the intent of the amendments proposed. Also, it occurs that there may well be legal or constitutional issues here around property ownership and expropriation that might need to be considered. In the event that there is a real prospect of a requirement to compensate shareholders in the case of expropriation, the council understands the matter of any potential redress for such impacted parties arising as a result of legislative change will be a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas. In this regard, the council understands the proposed legislation will benefit from detailed legal scrutiny in due course. It is suggested that if restrictions on persons other than registered veterinary practitioners are to be brought into effect then it will be necessary to ensure there are appropriate enforcement and investigative powers to ensure that any law can be enforced. The council is anxious to ensure that any proposed legislation to be enforced by it is suitably robust and capable of enforcement by it in the public interest and in the interest of animal health and welfare.

The council again highlights its wish to assist the committee in the consideration of these matters in a constructive way. The objective of both our recent written submission and our appearance today is to highlight aspects of the draft legislation that may require further consideration or refinement to ensure that any legislation endorsed by the committee is informed, practical and enforceable. We respect that matters of policy are reserved for the Houses of the Oireachtas and, accordingly, the council can adopt no position on draft legislation which may fall to it to enforce, if enacted. As will be apparent from the Grant Thornton report, there is a broad church of opinion within the professions and among the public on the question of corporate ownership and related issues such as lay ownership of veterinary practices. Many of the views of stakeholders are held deeply and passionately. The council suggests that there is much important information and useful context in the Grant Thornton report that should shed light on the divergent views and some of the issues that arise.

The report also deals with regulatory structures based on regulation of the individual or regulation of the practice in veterinary regulation in other jurisdictions, in addition to detailing the structures of regulation relied upon for other health professionals, such as doctors, dentists and pharmacists.

Irrespective of the approach to ownership of veterinary practices, the council must continue to ensure the highest standards of veterinary medicine in the regulation and management of the professions. We will continue to work to ensure that the high standards expected and enjoyed in the veterinary industry are upheld, and that the quality of veterinary care is continuously improving into the future, in the best interests of animal health and welfare and the public interest.

I thank the Chairman, Vice Chairman and the committee for the invitation to address them today. The president of the Veterinary Council, the deputy president and I are happy to address any questions the committee may have.