Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I am protecting the interests of my Department. If State premises are not excluded, the council would have access to the Department of Agriculture and Food, in which veterinary practitioners who come under my regulation, as opposed to that of the council, are employed. This would mean that the Department could be raided. I know some of the Senators would love that to happen. I am excluding State premises and the Department itself so that the council will not be in a position to raid the Department. Although some of the vets in the Department may be members of an organisation, they come under the auspices of the legislation and regulations relating to the Department and are subject to investigation by it.