Results 14,461-14,480 of 23,967 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: That was in writing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: If the council had sought specific relevant legal advice prior to the changes in the code in 2017, does Ms Muldoon think we would be in the situation we are in, whereby non-registered persons are operating veterinary practices outside of the regulation of the council and in contravention of the Veterinary Practice Act 2005?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: If I may, I will delve further into the legal advice the council received on lay ownership prior to the decision to change the code in December 2017. Ms Muldoon stated previously that that legal advice indicated that the council did not have any specific role in legal ownership, but the legislation is silent on the matter. What did the legal advice say to the council about its capacity,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes, but I am asking for the detail of that advice. What was so solid about the advice that the council could not continue with its previous code, which prohibited lay ownership? The Act is silent on the matter. Did that legal advice not then leave it open and give the council discretion to continue to prohibit lay ownership on the basis that it could have an impact on the operation of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: No. I refer to the initial advice given prior to the decision to change the code in December 2017.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: Regarding the advice the council received prior to the initial decision to change the code, which allowed for lay ownership, the decision to change the code was later paused and the council carried wider consultation. However, in advance of the initial decision to change the code to allow for lay ownership in the future, as I hear it here, the advice on the specifics of the legality of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: That legal advice is not particularly directional though in that it stated there was no legal impediment. It does not specifically require the council to change its code of conduct either in that it does not say there is a legal impediment. It states that lay ownership should be allowed, so it strikes me that it left it very much in the Veterinary Council's court as to how it might proceed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: Can Mr. Ó Scanaill elaborate a little on that? What does he mean when he says there was lay involvement previously? Was that in contradiction of the code?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: Companies buying out practices put non-compete clauses into vets' contracts so that if they leave, they cannot set up in the same area. Would that not be the expected practice of businesses coming into this market? They could therefore completely impede this and put a burden on the vet's freedom of movement and his or her capacity to properly meet their responsibilities.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: A fourth party is very much in the equation then, because the company has-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: Who owns the practice?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: Where there is lay ownership, is the client list owned by the lay ownership?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: If there is a four or five-man practice with one certificate of suitability for clinical oversight of the practice, meaning there is one vet in charge, and all are employees of a lay company with a premises, who has the clients?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: So the lay owner could own the client list.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: Is it the case that a lay owner can decide to close a practice even if the person who holds the certificate of suitability does not wish to do so? Informing the decision by the council to permit lay ownership is the fact that it is the council's belief the ownership has no influence on the provision of veterinary services. If a lay owner can close a practice against the wish of the vet who...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: If it is not a dispute between two vets subject to the code of conduct but one between lay owners, the latter do not have any responsibility regarding the code or the welfare of animals, yet it appears they can make a decision to close down a practice and prevent veterinary medicine from being provided.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: That is fair enough.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: I take the point but ownership certainly has an influence on the provision of veterinary services whenever laypersons are involved. We have seen it come into play already that lay ownership has an influence. That goes against the grain of what the council is trying to achieve and oversee. Only vets should have control. With the change that has been made, allowing lay ownership to come...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: If the council cannot control matters such as price and yet allows owners who will be driven by profit, it cannot have control. I have seen it in my own county. The fees for out-of-hours calls increase to €500. Vets cannot feasibly be available to carry out their duties in that situation. The council does not have control over ensuring veterinary services are available whenever...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Council of Ireland Report: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Charlie McConalogue: Does that apply even where the customer is not a client of the practice in question?