Mr. Ray Doyle:

I will answer that. On 31 January 2020, we made a detailed submission to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on this. On 28 February, we did so with the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, which was discussing up regulation of anthelmintics to prescription-only medicines. We have had detailed discussions on this. Our primary objective all along, as outlined by my CEO and my chairman, was to maintain the distribution network we have in the co-operative stores, and licensed merchants and pharmacies as being the widest possible distribution base for this.

We are where we are, almost where the Oireachtas committee is. We are still no further on with what will happen in little over 12 months time. As I have said in my submission, time is running out. At the moment, we are being pushed to the Veterinary Council of Ireland, VCI, to try to agree a prescribing regime. We have put forward a very practical, transparent, robust, internationally defendable model to it, which was rejected. Until the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine adjudicates on this matter, or takes it by the scruff of the neck, we are where we are.