Mr. Michael Sheahan:

In this case, I agree with the Deputy. This is one recommendation we considered carefully, but we did not see any merit in the suggestion. We do not intend to employ Department veterinarians to do the sampling at racecourses. We considered the recommendation but could not see any particular logic to it. Dr. Suann's report also concluded that the sampling process is done by two assistants and a full-time veterinarian. From reading back through the transcripts of debates, I am not sure from where the recommendation emerged. We could not see any particular logic to it. The process seems to work very well.