Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 341: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food her plans to bring in legislation in order that farmers receive prescriptions to obtain animal medication; if legislation is required; and the plans the Government has to change the system. [14079/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Under EU Directive 2004/28, there is a general requirement that all medicines for food-producing animals must be brought under veterinary prescription control. However, taking account of difficulties Ireland and a small number of other member states had expressed about this prescriptive approach during negotiations on the legislation, provision has been made under the EU directive for exemptions to this general principle in accordance with criteria to be determined at EU level. The deadline for decisions on the exemptions is January 2007, pending which the EU legislation specifically provides that existing national distribution regimes may remain in place.

My approach to the exemption provision is to seek at EU level to retain off-prescription status for those categories of medicines, such as wormers, which the Irish Medicines Board has determined on a scientific basis may be safely sold under existing controls without the need for a veterinary prescription. It remains to be seen whether this approach will be accepted by the Commission and other member states. However, I do not propose to pre-empt the outcome of this exercise by introducing a general legislative requirement that all medicines for food producing animals must be subject to a veterinary prescription.