Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 87: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps she will take to prevent the veterinary medicines regulations legislation from increasing the cost base of veterinary care for farmers here. [6977/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is finalising a package of amendments to the national control regime for veterinary medicines. One of the key objectives of these amendments is to put in place a regime which will address a number of difficulties identified arising from inflexibilities in the existing regime.

I propose to make the prescription regime more effective and workable by removing the mandatory requirement for veterinary practitioners to clinically examine an animal at the time of each prescription and also by extending the range of outlets which may supply medicines on foot of a veterinary prescription to include the licensed merchant category.

While I am very conscious of the need to minimise the cost of these measures to farmers, the primary focus of the medicine control regime is to protect public health and animal health and welfare. I am satisfied that the changes I propose to make to the medicines legislation will improve the operation of the prescription regime and will provide a basis for a greater degree of price competition in the supply of veterinary medicines to farmers, while retaining the necessary safeguards in relation to public health and animal health and welfare.