Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The legislation is necessary to update our laws on veterinary practices and to meet our obligations under several EU directives, including the nitrates directive. It provides for the introduction of regulations and monitoring mechanisms regarding veterinary prescriptions and their dispensing in the importation, sale and use of fertiliser, as well as the creation of a national fertiliser database. It is a long time coming. I recall being in a knowledge transfer group, long before I went into politics, where vets explained the overuse of antibiotics and routine dosing.

Stakeholders recognise the need for regulation in these areas but there are also concerns that the Bill has too many ambiguities and will result in even more bureaucracy for ordinary farmers. Although this legislation is technical in nature, it still touches on many aspects of farming and rural life. It is about our use of fertiliser, our vulnerability to international markets and the glaring need to accelerate the use of viable and sustainable alternatives. This legislation is also about veterinary practice in Ireland, the challenges faced by vets and how we respond to antimicrobial resistance. The agrifood sector is a significant part of the economy and livestock farming is the largest component at approximately 85%. The Bill will, therefore, have a significant impact on the sector and the everyday practices of farmers. There is scope to improve it and make it more effective. It needs to be targeted at supporting family farms and ensuring its obligations can be met easily by people who are already overstretched. I encourage the Minister to listen to the points being raised and continue his engagement with stakeholders to strengthen his approach. The pre-legislative scrutiny process clearly established that farmer representative bodies are more than willing to work with him and have suggested practical solutions to some of the issues identified.

The VMP aspects of the Bill highlight the many challenges faced by farmers and vets in their attempts to ensure the health of livestock and to act responsibly in the administration of animal-based medication. European VMP regulations are aimed at enhancing safety and availability of VMPs and strengthening the EU response to fight antimicrobial resistance. An effective and co-ordinated approach to combating antimicrobial resistance is incredibly important. It is a major threat to human and animal health. Unfortunately, it is a leading cause of death globally and particularly impacts people in less advantaged countries. The inappropriate use and overuse of antibiotics greatly increases the risk of disease spread, severe illness and mortality. This resistance can also be transferred between diseases causing microorganisms that infect humans and animals and can live on in the environment.

The Minister will also be aware of potential problems raised by the Irish Pharmacy Union, which argues that the Bill may reduce compliance around antimicrobial resistance. Recommendation No. 6 of the pre-legislative scrutiny report of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine proposed the separation of prescribing and dispensing of veterinary medicines. It pointed out that this approach was adopted by Scandinavian countries and has achieved significantly lower levels of resistance to medicines. In response, however, the Department said it cannot pursue this approach as it would be seen as providing state aid to one sector as a separation of prescribing and dispensing is found in other EU countries. This rationale could be disputed. The committee called for this proposal to be examined extensively. Will the Minister confirm whether a fresh extensive examination occurred in response to that call? If so, what form did it take? Can he make the results available?

The VMP regulations need more work. They are part of our response to a significant issue. It is up to the Minister to use the scope available to implement the regulations in a manner that helps farmers and vets. There is a ban on the use of antimicrobials as a prophylactic or preventative measure as regards restrictions on metaphylactic use, which is the administration of a medical product to a whole group of animals when only some of that group have been diagnosed with a clinical disease. This latter practice is common in dairy settings for mastitis control. The restriction on metaphylactic use of antimicrobials makes farm hygiene approaches to managing infection rates even more significant. We all know there are farms that are not meeting these standards and a resultant overreliance on antimicrobials.

With these new regulations, the Minister has a responsibility and an opportunity to help as many farms as possible become compliant with best practice in this area. A related area highlighted during pre-legislative scrutiny was the national capacity to monitor these issues. Macra na Feirme pointed out the need for proper funding of forage laboratory analysis. There will be increased demand for a range of tests and the State will need to be ready for this. New regulations that put more pressures on family farms must be counterbalanced by the Department having appropriate facilities.

These regulations also cover the supply of antiparasitic VMPs, in particular, with products changing from merchant products to prescription-only medicines. The agriculture committee's report, reflecting the inputs of stakeholders, expressed considerable concern regarding these changes. These range from reduced choice and increased cost to farmers to the impacts of restricting or ceasing the role of the responsible person in the supply of medicines.

The Minister will be aware that this was a substantial item of discussion of the committee and that the farming organisations have genuine and practical points which need to be addressed. I hope the Minister will consider those points on the later Stages of the Bill.

The benefit of this legislation is that it has allowed for a discussion of the role vets have in our agrifood system and the pressures they face. In its submission to the committee, Veterinary Ireland, the representative body for nearly 1,000 private veterinary practitioners, points out the significant burdens vets face in providing 24-hour care for animals. This includes the cost of operating this model, the disruption to work-life balance and the challenges in recruiting and retaining veterinary staff. The Minister needs to be conscious of these matters, not only in the context of this Bill but also in ensuring we have sufficient vets in all areas across the country to support family farming. I think everybody who is involved in farming really appreciates that we have an incredible veterinary service. In that way it needs to be protected.

The regulation on fertiliser is another crucial development but it needs to be designed and implemented with farmers and agricultural organisations to ensure its effectiveness. In the pre-legislative scrutiny process, we heard worries expressed about additional bureaucracy.

The national fertiliser database is intended to be a tool to help the nitrates action programme. We know that agriculture is the single biggest source of water pollution in Ireland and we all want to address that. The proposed database is intended to provide a better understanding of current fertiliser use. It would also facilitate the national agriculture inspection programme on chemical fertiliser control. Crucially, measures to improve best practice and to begin to turn the tide on our shocking levels of water pollution and soil degradation are necessary, but we need to do this in a way that encourages compliance. Numerous practical issues and uncertainties were raised by stakeholders in pre-legislative scrutiny, and it is important to acknowledge that the Minister has made changes to the Bill to reflect some of them, but there are some outstanding matters.

One of the primary concerns was that the database could increase the administrative burden on fertiliser users. The committee called for an accessible and user-friendly design. The Department has clarified that the system will use the existing portal, agfood.ie, and that farmers can use their herd numbers. The committee recommended that there be continuous engagement with the Department as the database is rolled out. That is the very least we can expect to help make the process as easy and efficient as possible.

Another matter was the situation whereby sports clubs may use fertiliser on their grounds. The Department has clarified that those clubs will be required to register as professional fertiliser users. This question that arises is whether they know that. Many farmers will be aware of these impending changes, but sports clubs may not. What steps is the Minister taking to inform and educate all relevant farmers, sports clubs and other fertiliser users? There is an obligation on the Government to be proactive in helping all stakeholders to understand the changes and to support them in adhering to the new regulations.

The regulation of fertilisers is an opportunity for us to think about our reliance on industrial imported chemical fertilisers. This time last year, farmers were facing inconsistent price increases, with international restrictions on nitrates, and that was before the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is an urgent need to end our dependence on chemical fertiliser. It represents the type of intensive farming that is forcing farmers to do more and more for less and less. Sustainable agriculture needs to mean practices that can be maintained using natural approaches that use the strengths of our soil and climate rather than working against them and leaving farmers reliant on these imported elements, the price of which we cannot control. If we do not truly try to address this now, which I do not believe we are doing, we are blatantly leaving it to the next generation to do it. I mean not just the next generation of politicians but the next generation of farmers too. The longer we leave it, the harder it will get. I do not think we have grasped how important this issue is, and the relative emptiness of the Chamber compared with when other issues are discussed is evidence of that.

We do not have to look very far for more evidence. There is the absence of a nutrient management plan, which Macra na Feirme has been calling for, and there is the very existence of the derogation for nitrates and the continuous glossing over, the ignoring, of that in this Chamber because nobody wants to really address it. It is worth noting that a lot more needs to be done on this, and the Government is not working towards that. As I said, the longer this is left, the harder it will be for farmers. This is not doing them any favours.

While the introduction of new regulations necessarily involves disruption and a new way of doing things, I can only hope the Government will work with all the stakeholders to make this a smooth process. These regulations are in response to real issues with antimicrobial resistance and water pollution. It is fair to say that we are all invested in addressing these matters; the challenge is how we do it. Some outstanding shortcomings can be resolved. If the Bill moves through the next Stages, I encourage the Minister to return to the committee's report and engage further with stakeholders to improve the effectiveness of this legislation.

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