Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

In view of the fact that I am proposing under the Bill to define the practice of veterinary medicine for the first time, and to avoid farmers and others being criminalised for doing something in an emergency out of concern for an animal that is sick, injured or in severe distress, it is necessary to specifically provide for emergency situations.

I recognise that there could be concerns about the possible abuse of such a provision. However, I would point out that the provision is quite tightly drafted and that, under section 60, I may make regulation under which I could address any symptomatic problems which might be identified. Notwithstanding this, I can accept the essence of Senator Henry's amendment, which is designed to better define the timescale elements by replacing "immediately available" with "available within a reasonable period of time". This construction in section 56(2) will offer better protection against abuse of the provision.

I also propose to make an amendment to section 56(2) to provide for greater emphasis on the primary importance of the welfare aspect when a person other than a vet decides to treat an animal in an emergency. Accordingly, I propose to insert the phrase "having regard to the welfare of the animal". This means that the welfare of the animal will be the overriding issue in an emergency situation. Taken together, the two amendments will improve the protection afforded by the provision and will make it clear that it cannot be relied on by non-vets as a cover, that the emergency must be real and that the welfare of the animal must come first. This is something to which we referred in our initial discussions. The amendments reflect the concerns expressed by Members of the House.