Mr. Colm Forde:

On the views shared by members, we are in full agreement that there are huge challenges with this regulation. We are also absolutely committed to working with all the stakeholders and on how we address them. Deputies Fitzmaurice and Ring made comments about meeting the stakeholders as soon as possible. We are already proactively engaged in that regard and have been since last year. There have been two meetings of our antiparasitic stakeholder group and it is planned that a third will take place in a couple of weeks. I assure the committee that we are working with the stakeholders as closely as possible. I mentioned the action plan, which contains 37 actions and with different subgroups responsible for these. All the stakeholders are invited to be part of those groups. We can share the action plan with the committee if it wishes or provide greater detail later. I assure the committee that we are working with them all and that we are acutely aware of potential competition issues. How we address that is dealt with in five or six of the actions in the plan. I hope that provides some comfort.

On interpreting legislation, we must take advice from our legal services team and the Attorney General. We will work with all our stakeholders in what we can do. On what other jurisdictions do, it is notable that Ireland and the UK have until now been the only countries in Europe that provide antiparasitics without prescription. Every other country in the EU requires a veterinary prescription to access antiparasitics.

The North-South challenge is something we are acutely aware of and something of which our stakeholders have made us aware. We have a close working relationship with our colleagues in Northern Ireland. We had a video conference with our colleagues in the UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate who have responsibility for regulating activities in Northern Ireland. We agreed that we would draw up a memorandum of understanding about how we will address this issue with suitably qualified persons. If a suitably qualified person in Northern Ireland was to provide medicines to a farmer in Ireland, that individual would have committed an offence. We will have protocols whereby we can inform of such things happening. Where there is a border, any economic activity in Ireland will have different laws and regulations and how that is managed is a challenge for both jurisdictions. I assure the committee that we are working with our Northern Irish and UK counterparts on how we address that matter.

On residues, I agree with the Chairman that it is an excellent programme and that the results in recent years show how safe the Irish food market is. Whenever people from third countries visit Ireland on trade missions, they always ask for a presentation on our residue programme. It is something that we can be very positive in informing them about. I think the Chairman was talking about food safety for the consumer whereas our concern with antiparasitics is really for the farmer. The scientific evidence shows us that many of these products simply are no longer working, so it is in all our interests to use them as prudently as we can to ensure that they are there to the benefit of farmers. That is not to blame anyone in the supply chain. That was not suggested by my colleague or in any report which was put out, rather to say that we all need to work together to ensure that they are used responsibly. That is also addressed in our action points. We want to work with responsible persons, with vets and farmers, to improve everyone's knowledge about how these products should be used as effectively as possible. That is in everyone's interest.

I hope I have addressed the points but I am happy to deal with any further issues.