Mr. Barry Larkin:

The first thing to say is this has been on the cards for the past four years and we are where we are, which is not much further on. The Department has put in place various different proposals in place, none of which have worked. The current proposal has been pushed out to 1 September. We are still not much further on. We feel that the shift in supply will be very similar, if not identical, to the antimicrobials or the intramammary tubes.

We have gone through those figures already. Approximately 40% were dispensed through the co-ops before the new regulation was introduced in 2022 whereas now only 2% are dispensed through the co-ops.