Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 292: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food further to Parliamentary Question No. 162 of 16 December 2004, the reason for her stated intention not to extend prescribing rights for veterinary medicines to pharmacists and other suitably qualified personnel; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6829/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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As I indicated in my response to a similar parliamentary question on 16 February 2005, the existing distribution regime for veterinary medicines set down in Regulation 13 of the Animal Remedies Regulations 1996 provides for a hierarchy of designated routes of supply ranging from those which may only be supplied and administered by a veterinary practitioner to those which may be supplied, without prescription, by the 'licensed merchant' category.

I also stated that, under the package of changes I propose to make to the legislation, this hierarchy will remain broadly in place with the result that medicines, categorised by the Irish Medicines Board as not requiring a veterinary prescription, can continue to be sold, as appropriate, by pharmacists and licensed merchants without the need to involve a veterinary practitioner. However, medicines which are designated prescription only by the IMB on the basis that veterinary intervention is necessary before a decision is reached on their use, will continue to require a prescription from a veterinary practitioner. In this context, I believe that, having regard to the overall balance of the package, it would be inconsistent with the current concept of prescription only to permit non-veterinarians to prescribe medicines. The Deputy will be aware from my reply of 16 December 2004 that I propose to make the prescription regime itself more effective and workable by removing some of the inflexibility in the existing regime, particularly in relation to the requirement on veterinarians to clinically examine an animal at the time of each prescription and by extending the range of outlets which may supply on foot of a veterinary prescription.