Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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I thank the witnesses for being with us and for their informative presentation and notes on it.

My big concern is the effect this will have on farmers and the inconvenience it is causing them. A good example is the way the dry cow tubes have worked and the extra costs that is placing on farmers. Previously, they could go to their chemist or co-op and get dry cow tubes, whereas now they also have to pay a prescription fee on top of that. From farmers' point of view, the inconvenience and extra costs are indefensible.

I take the point that we are pretty much dealing with a crisis as regards antimicrobial resistance, AMR, in animals and cross-contamination and it is becoming a larger issue. However, we have to be practical about how we deal with that. From listening to the witnesses and from their submission, I have significant concerns about the anti-competitive nature of how the statutory instrument is being introduced and implemented. Mr. O'Shea spoke about it, but could the witnesses give a bit more clarity on why farmers will have difficulty in accessing medicines from merchants? In theory, my understanding is that they should be able to get their prescriptions and then decide who they want to purchase the medicines from. Are there any further comments on that or on how that element of the matter could be resolved?