Mr. Gerry Neary:

It will end it. Forever more they will be unmotivated employees of a big corporate. I am retired from practice, but the demotivation to which this measure will give rise in the profession bothers me, as do the economic consequences. A vet will be paid to do a job until 5 p.m. and work a set number of hours per week, but most vets work beyond 5 p.m. and do whatever they have to do at any given time. It is their practice, business and client who is also their neighbour. I have often been dressed to attend a family event such as Holy Communion and instead had to go to section a ewe, getting blood all over myself in the process, but one just has to do it. I am sure there will not be the same motivation if this measure goes through.

I have been over and back to England and seen what has happened there in large animal practices. It has gone from being local to regional. In the drive towards incorporation most companies kept the small animal part of their businesses but got rid of the large animal part by either closing it down or selling it to a group of fellows who might operate within an 80-mile radius. There are herd health programmes and three-hour guarantees to reach an emergency case, but it has done away with sheep practices altogether because the fees for lambing or sectioning a ewe during the night mean that such services cannot be justified. Many now get rid of animals in distress, rather than bring them to a vet. There are huge animal welfare issues related to this measure.

I worked in an area which was very heavily populated with sheep. I had to get up at 3 a.m. to put a lamb's intestines back in for €15. That is what we do because we are vets. There are point to point meetings, shows and other gatherings where a vet is required to be, free of charge. It is a system, of which we are very proud. Our medical colleagues have diverged into out-of-hours services, but I would not like to see us go down that route, or the English route, in veterinary practice. Our system is town and village-based and on a continuous, 24/7, 365 days per year basis. which we should protect.