Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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134. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures being taken to ensure pharmacies that dispense veterinary prescriptions are not losing revenue due to the roll-out of the national veterinary prescription system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36630/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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My Department is committed to supporting all dispensers, including pharmacists, to use the National Veterinary Prescription System (NVPS). A number of measures have been taken to ensure pharmacies that dispense veterinary prescriptions are facilitated in the roll out of the NVPS.

The NVPS provides farmers with an SMS text prescription ID, allowing farmers to purchase veterinary medicinal products at their chosen outlet. Pharmacies that are registered to use the NVPS can dispense these prescriptions issued on NVPS. The NVPS is available as a free web application for all pharmacists or a pharmacist can use their software provider if it is integrated with the NVPS.

In the S.I. 462/2024 (Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulations 2024), there are provisions for a 'comparables' list, where a product, other than the product prescribed may be dispensed in the case of antiparasitic medicinal products. This list has been relaxed so that dose and withdrawal periods do not have to be identical and the NVPS will add this information in so that the original prescription is not being altered by the dispenser. This provides an appropriate alternative choice if the initial product is not in stock.

For pharmacists, there are provisions in the S.I. that when a human medicinal product is prescribed for an animal, for use under Article 112, 113 or 114 of the VMP Regulation (cascade use or outside the terms of marketing authorisation), an interchangeable human medicinal product may be dispensed in lieu of the prescribed product.

Online retail of antiparastic medicinal products is also authorised under S.I. 462/2024. This is the only POM that can be retailed online but will facilitate the farmer to choose an outlet of their choice to dispense their prescription.