Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for his contribution today and thank other Deputies for their very wide-ranging and mostly well thought-out contributions from across the floor the last time we were discussing this Bill. It has been a positive start to the legislative journey through the Dáil and the Seanad. I will certainly be taking on board the various contributions made by Deputies to the debate.

To recap, we fully accept that animal herd health planning and good husbandry practices are the starting point in optimising farm outputs. However, veterinary medicinal products and medicated feed are a vital cog in our agricultural production cycle and they make an important contribution to animal health and, ultimately, to public and human health. One of the key objectives of this legislation and of recently introduced EU legislation, which I gave effect to earlier in the year by way of a statutory instrument, is to ensure animal and public health as well as the environment are protected through the appropriate use of these products. This legislation is an important part of that objective. I am also conscious of the views expressed by Members during this Second Stage debate and of the views of stakeholders expressed throughout the extensive engagement and consultation we have had on this legislation. As Deputy Fitzmaurice said, considerable time and attention has been given to this by the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

I have listened intently to those who spoke of the importance of ensuring farmers will continue to have a choice about where they purchase their products, which is so important. The issue of the derogation was mentioned by several contributors and is one that has been discussed and considered very extensively. The recent advice received from the Attorney General's office has brought clarity to this issue and I am now focused on ensuring a competitive marketplace for the sale of veterinary medicinal products remains into the future. All existing stakeholders in the sector, including veterinarians, co-operatives, licensed merchants and pharmacists, will all continue to have a role in ensuring competition and choice continues to be available to farmers. I am acutely aware of the impact additional costs could have on farmers, especially in the times we are in, but I am confident that achieving the objectives of this Bill and the overarching EU regulations will reduce costs on farmers through reduced, but more effective, use of veterinary medicinal products. That will also be achieved by keeping diversity in the supply chain.

Put simply, I want to ensure we have a robust system but one where farmers continue to have the appropriate level of options for accessing the products they buy. On the introduction of the national veterinary prescription system, NVPS, I am convinced that, in years to come, we will look back at this moment as a turning point in Ireland's battle against antimicrobial and antiparasitic resistance. In his contribution, Deputy Fitzmaurice referenced how many of the products that were very effective over the years have now become ineffective or useless because of poor use and resistance being built up over time. This means the products do not work on animals anymore. Resistance builds up and then many of those products, in their appropriate formula, cannot be used in human health either. It is a very serious issue and one to which, in the context of both animal and public health, we must be attentive.

The potential level of insights available to all parties through the collection of veterinary prescription and dispensing data and the use of veterinary medicines will be invaluable for future policy direction. The system will provide for the digitalisation of an historical set of practices and will provide greater options to members of the farming community on where and when they obtain access to medication for animal welfare. It is also important to remember that greater regulatory oversight via the NVPS on the use of veterinary medication has the capacity to uniquely separate Ireland's agrifood producers from other EU nations when seeking access to international markets, and this will be vitally important to the continued growth of this nationwide sector.

I will now touch on fertilisers, the other key aspect of this legislation. The fertiliser register and its introduction will play an important role in our use of fertiliser as well as being an important aspect of the new Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. It will help us to build resilience in the agriculture sector. The North-South element of trade has been raised by Deputy Fitzmaurice and a number of other Deputies in the course of the debate. I reiterate there are no provisions in the Bill that will disrupt cross-Border trade. Trade in fertilisers will continue and farmers will be free to purchase fertiliser from outside of the State, as they have done up to now.

The only additional requirement will be that such transactions will be classified as imports and farmers buying from Northern Ireland, for example, will have to register as importers of fertiliser. The Department will include on-site inspections as part of its compliance monitoring programme. Risk-based on-farm inspections as well as inspections at merchant level to confirm the accuracy of information being uploaded to the database will also be included.

Another issue raised was how sports clubs and organisations will be categorised under this legislation. As I said previously, the purchase and use of fertiliser in quantities sufficient for use on football fields and their environments will be considered as commercial use. Therefore, sports clubs will have to register as professional fertiliser end users. However, I am satisfied that beyond registration, there will not be any additional burden placed on clubs, particularly if they do not hold stocks on site.

References in the debate were also made to the additional administrative burden that might be placed on merchants and farmers. I am acutely aware of this issue at all stages of the development and taking forward of this project. I can assure Deputy Fitzmaurice that we are working to ensure that the process is as seamless as possible. I believe that the system, as it has been designed and developed, is as easy and simple to use as it possibly can be. Most, if not all, farmers will only need to register once on the Department's online portal, agfood.ie, and then interact with the system once a year to declare any opening and closing stocks. The reporting of sales will be carried out by fertiliser merchants and there will be a simple straightforward system in place to record fertiliser transactions.

Concerns were also raised in relation to data protection. We have taken steps to ensure that the data collected under this Bill comply with all aspects of general data protection regulation, GDPR, rules and requirements. The robust data sharing provisions in the legislation will allow the specific sharing of data with other bodies to achieve environmental and sustainability targets and will be fully in line with GDPR and other data protection legislation.

To conclude, I thank the Deputies for their engagement today, as well as on Tuesday. It is important legislation. It will help to future-proof our agrifood industry while offering a robust strong and practical system for farmers. I will continue to engage on Committee Stage and will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that the legislation that we bring in is one that achieves the objectives and ensures that we have a full accurate record and good and proper usage of fertiliser. In relation to antimicrobial resistance, in particular, it will ensure that we put in place a system which works for farmers, for public health and addresses the issues that have emerged in recent years, which have shown that if we are not monitoring and do not have a strong line of sight of this, everyone loses as a result. Ultimately, it could have significant implications for animal health and human health in the years to come.

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