Mr. Conor Geraghty:

I will answer that Chair. Originally in the discussion with the antiparasitic resistance stakeholder group and the Veterinary Council of Ireland, we advocated that 12 months was too long for a prescription, which is universally accepted. Something cannot be prescribed safely or ethically for 364 days' time. The compromise that the council and the Department came up with was "up to" 12 months prescription as was highlighted at this committee last week or the week before. The code of professional conduct states up to 12 months, but the onus is on us to justify anything we prescribe. The proposed legislation also states up to 12 months. In reality what we are talking about here with antiparasitic products specifically is that when a farmer and a PVP get together, such as in the parasite control targeted advisory service on animal health, TASAH, which is ongoing, they will come up with a general plan of what they will do to minimise use, to use more targeted treatments and maintain refugia which is the key element in reducing resistance on farms. Outside of that, there is ongoing contact, both formal and informal. Where farmers are working with their vets, there is ongoing contact. You may have a plan but you will often get a phone call from someone asking, "What will I do now or will I do it now?" or saying, "I have the fecal egg count results or the cattle are not thriving" or asking, "Should I bring in a sample as there is evidence of diarrhea?" That goes on all the time. That is the way it will work in practice. The up to 12 months timeframe was probably included to satisfy other stakeholders rather than the reality of what will happen on the ground.