Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

Senator Mooney raised the issue of the cost of medicines. I do not have any direct control over this. The main driver behind this legislation is the cost competitiveness of farming. It seeks to ensure that farmers do not need to pay vets to do things that farmers are more than qualified to do themselves. If there is any evidence to suggest there is some kind of cartel developing between vets in the provision of medicines, we need to hear about it. The Competition Authority needs to hear about it, as does the regulatory authority.

In recent years we have tried to introduce more competition into the provision of veterinary medicines by, for example, allowing veterinary medicine to be sold through pharmacies, which was not the case in the past. There is more competition and awareness of different pricing structures among farmers than there has been in the past but more work probably remains to be done.

I do not have the figure for the number of veterinary places in Irish colleges, but we can give the Senator that detail. I know that many vets in Ireland would have studied abroad, particularly in the UK. It may be something we need to review. The reality is that the agrifood business is growing in the midst of recession and, if I have my way, will continue to grow rapidly between now and 2020. I want to increase the herd size from a beef and dairy point of view. We have seen a decline every year for the past five years in the beef cattle herd, although not in the dairy herd. The sheep flock has, however, stabilised this year and in fact it increased by 6.5% in the past 12 months. This is the first time in a decade that we have not seen a year-on-year decrease in the national flock of sheep. Again, this is driven by higher prices for lamb.

Something is changing for the better in the agri-food sector and it is driven by commodity prices for meat and dairy products. We are modernising agriculture to allow us to add value to products carrying the Irish label in terms of the sustainability, safety, disease control and animal husbandry that Irish food can promise. This is allowing us to target premium markets in new areas, such as China.

I believe we are entering into a period of sustained growth in agriculture and agri-food which will continue for the next five to ten years. There will be ups and downs along the way from a pricing point of view but the trend will be in one direction. That means veterinary practitioners and nurses will continue to play a significant role and an increasing number of these professionals will be required to service the industry as we become more advanced and scientific in our production techniques. That is good news for the veterinary profession. This Bill puts in place the appropriate legislative framework to ensure the profession is properly regulated and to define in law the roles that veterinary nurses and practitioners can play.

I look forward to working with the House on improving the legislation if Members put forward amendments on Committee Stage.

I look forward to working with the House on improving the legislation if Members put forward amendments on Committee Stage.

Question put and agreed to.