Ms Nicola Cantwell:

In response to the comment about whether we can or cannot prescribe, the Bill currently indicates that we cannot prescribe. We could decide to prescribe now and as soon as the legislation comes into play, we will not be able to prescribe. If the Bill comes in as it stands, qualified persons in the North will be able to prescribe while qualified persons in Ireland, south of the Border, will not. That is what is important. It is not about grandfathering anything into place. It is about continuing what we are doing, giving us the opportunity to provide a collaborative approach with everybody across the country to ensure we put a strong system in place to protect our agricultural industry and antiparasitic medicines, and to make sure we reduce the risks of antimicrobials. To be clear, we are well capable of doing what we are doing. We are all educated to the level we need to be to do it. There is no question of grandfathering or anything like that.