Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

It would have to be done under the direction of a veterinary practitioner if it is outside the criteria set down because the question of insurance would arise if a person who is not entitled to do so decides to make a diagnostic decision. It is a different matter if procedures are carried out following directions from a vet. The vet must make the diagnosis. This is the reason I wish to keep the balance because there are professional and insurance issues to be considered. If a person does something they believe they are professionally competent to do, problems will arise if they are not professionally qualified. This situation may change in the future. Nursing has changed in the past 25 years. It may be that the profession of veterinary nursing will move to postgraduate level or that a different type of management situation will come into play. At present, however, nurses must operate under the direction of or in the presence of veterinary practitioners. If a farmer was to lose a large animal because an unqualified person made a mistake, that would be a retrograde step.