Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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57. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will apply for a derogation to allow those other than veterinarians to continue proscribe veterinary medicinal products. [41602/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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EU Regulation 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products comes into effect in January 2022. This Regulation is binding and has direct effect on all Member States. Member States have limited national discretion within the introduction of the Regulation.

There is a derogation already in the Regulation, which allows professionals other than veterinarians to issue veterinary prescriptions, in limited circumstances, but only if this was provided for in a Member State's national legislation prior to Regulation 2019/6 coming into force in January 2019.

Ireland's national legislation has never, at any stage, permitted anyone other than a veterinarian to issue a veterinary prescription and therefore this derogation does not apply within this State.