Dr. Paul Corkery:

That is how things are done. It is done in law. If in the Bill we put in a provision that a prescription for antiparasitic medicine will have a duration of 12 months then that is what it will have. I recall saying earlier that the current situation is that a vet can decide that a prescription will be for as long as the vet determines. In this legislation that we are scrutinising it is possible to insert a provision stating, "A prescription for anti-parasitic medicines shall be valid for one year", and if we get the go-ahead to ensure the NVPS is the only way in which a vet can issue a prescription, then the NVPS will default to 12 months.