Jackie Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 154: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she will reconsider the new directive on veterinary medicines and take into account the financial burden it will put on farmers, restricting all veterinary products to the veterinary surgeons only, making them available through prescription; if her attention has been drawn to the widespread distribution of pharmacies and to the fact that the pharmacist is always present, ensuring access to medicines to protect animal welfare when a veterinary surgeon is not available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17486/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is currently engaged in drafting legislation to transpose EU Directive 2004/28 which is the new framework legislation governing the veterinary medicines regime across Europe. The deadline for transposition is 30 October 2005. The EU legislation includes a general provision that all veterinary medicines for food producing animals should be brought under veterinary prescription control.

Arising from difficulties expressed during the negotiations of the EU measure by Ireland and a small number of other member states, an exemption clause was included in the directive, which provides a mechanism for specific categories of medicines to be excluded from the mandatory prescription requirement. Decisions at EU level on exemptions are required to be taken by 1 January 2007, pending which existing national distribution arrangements may remain in place.

I am aware of the concerns which have been expressed here in Ireland about the potential cost implications for farmers of restricting all medicines to veterinary prescription control. However, as I have indicated, final decisions have yet to be taken and Ireland's approach to the exemption mechanism is to try to keep certain medicines, including certain vaccines, available without prescription. It should be noted that in the interim farmers will continue to be able to get these products without having to obtain a prescription and therefore the need to extend the range of those allowed to prescribe to include, for example, pharmacists does not arise.