Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In 2004, European legislation established a requirement that all veterinary medicinal products intended for use in food producing animals should be subject to a veterinary prescription. However, a 2006 EU directive allows for an exemption and the maintenance of non-prescription status for a certain number of these products which do not represent a risk to human or animal health. This meant that the rights of what are termed responsible persons were protected and since then, they have been able to continue to prescribe and dispense veterinary medicines when classified as licensed or agricultural merchants.

That exemption is now under threat following EU plans to introduce new regulations in January 2022. This regulation, if implemented, will mean that only vets will be allowed to prescribe these products and this will have a detrimental impact as at least 3,000 jobs in the agricultural merchant sector will be lost. This will be another blow to rural counties like Laois and Offaly. There is absolutely no reason this should be allowed to happen.

The EU justification for the new rules is that only vets have enough knowledge and skill to prescribe certain antimicrobial drugs but this is patent nonsense. Thousands of highly trained and skilled agricultural merchants have been dispensing these drugs since 2006 and there is no solid evidence to suggest why this needs to change. Fortunately, there is an additional derogation clause that would permit responsible persons to continue issuing a veterinary prescription when the regulation comes into force in 2022.

Today, I want to ask the Taoiseach if he will instruct the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and his Department to urgently adopt this derogation and, thereby, save thousands of jobs and prevent job losses in the rural economy. The sector employs and creates 10,000 jobs directly and indirectly. Organisations like the Independent Licensed Merchants Association, ILMA, and Ollie Ryan of Midland Veterinary, Tullamore, have already said that if this EU regulation is signed into law it will lead to job losses, possibly create a cartel, be extremely anti-competitive and create another burden for farming families who would also be subjected to a lot of hassle in getting their medicines. It would also bring up issues around traceability as farmers would be able to buy these products in the North of Ireland, given that it will operate a different system to us.

We have an opportunity to save thousands of rural jobs if the Government acts quickly on this issue and seeks a derogation. I hope the Taoiseach and Government will commit to doing that today and signal their intention to adopt the derogation that is already provided for in EU law. I understand agri-merchants have received letters stating that the derogation is there to be applied for by the Government.

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