Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I know he is a very busy Minister and there is pressure on his time so I appreciate him coming here to deal with this matter.

The matter relates to EU Regulation 2019/6 in regard to veterinary medical products, which is to come into effect in January 2022. The antiparasitic resistance stakeholder group has sought a regulatory impact assessment in advance of the implementation of EU Regulation 2019/6 on veterinary medical products. There was a very detailed discussion on the matter at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, of which I am a member, but a lot more discussion is required. The meeting was lengthy but there were many items we did not manage to complete. This is an ongoing issue, which I am sure has exercised the Minister's officials, who were at that meeting.

This EU regulation will restrict the sale of antiparasitic drugs for livestock to farmers by making it illegal for anyone other than a vet to prescribe to them. These drugs are routine medicines given to animals to kill parasites such as gut worm, liver fluke and many others. Currently, these medicines are available from licensed merchants across this country, pharmacies and vets. As such, there is a wide chain of distribution of these medicines. A restriction has been proposed to deal with what is known as "antiparasitic resistance". I understand and acknowledge the concerns of vets and officials of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in regard to this matter, which are valid concerns. However, in removing the pharmacies and licensed merchants from the chain, we run the risk of creating a monopoly around these products. Rural pharmacies and licensed merchants will be impacted, farmers will have to pay prescription charges, possibly adding to the cost in regard to these matters, and we run the risk of increased prices and the creation of a monopoly in regard to veterinary and agricultural medicines.

There is much talk of a shared island. I am in favour of a shared island. Northern Ireland has a derogation from this regulation. If we do not do that, we enter into uncertainty with separate jurisdictions and separate approaches to dealing with this, with all of the negative issues arising in that regard. This is a concern. It is important that we have consistency of approach in how we deal with this across the island of Ireland. We cannot, will not and should not compromise on human or animal health and safety and an important knock-on effect on the food chain. I understand the chain of events and I understand the concern of the Minister's officials, but I also understand the concerns in regard to the need for a unified approach across the island of Ireland.

I urge the Minister to seek definitive legal advice from the Attorney General on this matter. It is important that an economic assessment of the impact of this regulation is undertaken. The antiparasitic resistance stakeholder group is seeking an economic assessment of the impacts of the regulation. These are critical issues in regard to agriculture, animal welfare, animal health, the food chain and responsible persons, all of which are within the Minister's brief. We may need to improve issues around responsible persons in terms of the impact of this regulation, ultimately, this regulation will impact on rural communities in terms of cost.Has the Minister received legal advice on this? If not, is it his attention to seek such advice from the Attorney General? Is it his intention to seek a derogation from this regulation?