Mr. Finbarr Murphy:

Veterinary Ireland is the representative body for the veterinary profession in Ireland. Private veterinary practitioners, PVPs, are the gatekeepers of animal health and welfare and serve as a key pillar of support to the Irish agrifood industry. More pertinently, PVPs act as the gatekeepers in the supply of POMs. This is an important role in ensuring that medicines, and in particular antimicrobial medicines, get to the right animal with the right diagnosis and for the right duration. The prudent prescribing of antimicrobials is essential to ensure that the food we produce is safe and nutritious and that we achieve our goals and commitments to addressing the growing human health threat that is antimicrobial resistance. The threat of antiparasitic resistance was also acknowledged, as all vets have seen the outcomes on farms where this is an issue.

The client-patient practice relationship, CPPR, has been defined as the relationship between animal owners and their vet or veterinary practice of choice by the Veterinary Council of Ireland. The CPPR puts obligations on the vet and veterinary practice, which protects the level of service that is offered to the public. A CPPR is a very personal relationship built over years and, in many cases, generations. It is the cornerstone of the veterinary service to which our clients have become accustomed and value.

PVPs are obliged to provide 24-hour care to animals under their care. Irrespective of the animals' owners declaring they do not want such care, the obligation is there. The provision of 24-hour care is a significant burden on veterinary practices, as it is expensive to provide and loss making, interferes with the work-life balance of vets and their families, places vets in potential contravention of the working time directive, and makes recruitment and retention of vets in large animal practice more difficult.

There has been much debate about availability of vets to deliver services on farms and the need to train more vets. As detailed in our submission, the number of vets registered in Ireland is steadily rising while the number of veterinary practices delivering farm animal veterinary care is steadily decreasing.