John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

With regard to amendments Nos. 6 and 7, the subject of limited registration has been debated extensively during earlier Stages of passage of the Bill. Although the Minister has explained in depth the rationale for the section, it may be useful to briefly cover it again since there appears to be an underlying concern that the provision could be used as a back door to register unqualified persons in a manner which would undermine the veterinary profession. That is not in any way the intention behind the provision.

The 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease, though limited geographically, nonetheless showed the extreme pressure a larger outbreak would place on the veterinary service, both State and private. It must be taken into account that a disease episode could be EU-wide or even hemisphere-wide, meaning that we could not call on practitioners from elsewhere in Europe. In these circumstances, it is no more than prudent to make statutory provision for an exceptional recognition mechanism, which would allow persons with requisite skills, for example, trainee vets from a third country, to be taken in expeditiously to carry out specified tasks determined by the Veterinary Council of Ireland.

Provision is also made under the section to recognise persons who, while eminently qualified in a particular field which would render desirable their presence in, for example, a veterinary college for teaching purposes, would nonetheless not hold a conventional veterinary degree.

The section also contains important safeguards. The Veterinary Council of Ireland must satisfy itself that it is appropriate to activate the provision. The education committee has been designated under section 63 a function to advise the council on the skills and knowledge required. The grounds for limited registration are specified in section 45(2), and section 45(4) provides a basis for attaching conditions, including time, geographic limits and operating under supervision, to a limited registration.

With regard to the specific amendments under consideration and bearing in mind what I have said, it would not be appropriate to limit the provision to significant diseases. In any event, the formula contained in section 45(1) gives the council, rather than the Minister, an adequate framework within which to decide when it is appropriate to activate this provision.

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