Results 7,801-7,820 of 10,843 for speaker:Matt Carthy
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: The VCI does not actually seek evidence that they do.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: That is a strange system, is it not?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: If gardaí ask me for my driving licence, I can say it is okay and that I have one, but they will still want to see it.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: I thank the CCPC for being here today and for its submission and opening statement. The CCPC is the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and I note that "consumer" is mentioned in the opening paragraph of the submission to outline the purpose of the organisation, but from that point on, the consumer is not mentioned again in the CCPC's reasons for objecting to this legislation. Am...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: I am looking at the headings in the submission: "Unintended consequences"; "Competition and the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021"; "Irish Veterinary Sector"; and "Enhanced obligations on Veterinary Practices". Which of these relate to the consumer as opposed to the competition aspect of the CCPC's role?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: In this instance and where our committee's remit is concerned, the consumer is the farmer. A number of parts of the country are not as well serviced by vets as others. Will Mr. McHugh point us towards the recommendations that the CCPC has brought to the Government to address these deficiencies in veterinary services?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: That is fine. Mr. McHugh will know that this legislation would essentially revert the situation to an interpretation of the Veterinary Council that was in place from 2005 to 2018. The increases he referenced happened during a time the criterion was that a non-vet could not own a practice. In that time, did the CCPC make submissions or recommendations to the Veterinary Council or the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: Is there an issue there, given that the Veterinary Council of Ireland can only regulate practising vets as opposed to non-vet owners of practices?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: I understand. The previous interpretation of the Act was the cause of considerable debate at the previous committee and the reason for this legislation's introduction by Deputy Cahill. I was not party to those debates, so I apologise if some of my questions were answered then. Ms Muldoon referred to the historical interpretation that prevented a body corporate from becoming a veterinary...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: I know.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: Ms Muldoon mentioned that the Grant Thornton report concluded that there is a broad range of opinion within the profession and among the public on the question of corporate ownership. From my reading of the report, I understand that it indicated that 44% of the public were against corporate ownership while 13% were in favour. That does not show broad support.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: Among vets, 71% were opposed to corporate ownership, as were 85% of veterinary nurses. These people are currently working in practices and they were opposed to corporate ownership. For the purposes of this debate, corporate ownership means the beneficial owner of a veterinary practice not being a vet.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: Okay. Some said it made no difference. I will come back to that. Veterinary Ireland came before the committee at its last meeting. I do not know if Ms Muldoon saw that.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: One of the things its representatives stated was that "those practices are operating outside the Veterinary Practice Act and in complete contravention of the animal remedies regulations". Veterinary Ireland also indicated that legal advice was provided to a corporate owner that entered the market indicating the same. Does Ms Muldoon have a response to that?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: Okay. I thank Ms Muldoon.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: I want to try to get a grasp of where the VCI is coming from because Ms Muldoon said a number of times that this legislation is not something she would comment on. Ms Muldoon will not comment on whether there is an issue pertaining to the regulation of owners or not. I want to go back to the point on the regulation of individual vets. Does it operate on the same basis as the system that...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: Erased means that person is not allowed to be a vet.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: Somebody could be erased as a vet and still own a veterinary practice and employ six other vets.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: The boss could be somebody who the council has decided is not fit to be a vet.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Oct 2021)
Matt Carthy: Does the council not see that therefore there is need for regulation?