Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Is there a worry among co-ops and, indeed, different pharmacists and so on? Is it a problem, or is there a fear, as this is being put together that vets in the Department and elsewhere will basically have a monopoly? We were all assured at the beginning of this process because we brought up at every debate that we felt it was not a good scenario. It puts a farmer in a fairly awkward situation. He or she might be looking for a prescription from someone and might want to go down the road. We were assured that they could get it at their herd test or general programme of dosing for the year or whatever. To be quite frank about it, however, it is not working out that way in anything we have heard so far. Are we just making a cosy cartel contrary to all EU law or what the EU is supposed to be about - if it is about anything - in that we would be given a free market to make sure there would be competition?