Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 24 September 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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If I may, I will delve further into the legal advice the council received on lay ownership prior to the decision to change the code in December 2017. Ms Muldoon stated previously that that legal advice indicated that the council did not have any specific role in legal ownership, but the legislation is silent on the matter. What did the legal advice say to the council about its capacity, given the fact that the Act was silent, to continue with the code it had previously as it related to prohibiting lay ownership? That option was open to the council. Can Ms Muldoon elaborate on the nature of the legal advice the council got that indicated that it did not have that capacity to continue as before?