Vol. 542 No. 5
218 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development his position regarding proposals to make all medicines used in food producing animals available only on prescription; his views on whether these proposals have cost implications; his views on the concerns of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25139/01]
The specific proposal referred to forms one part of a package of proposals recently brought forward by the European Commission in the context of a major reform of the EU legislation regulating both the human and veterinary medicines fields. This package of proposals falls to be dealt with under the co-decision procedure involving both the European Parliament and the European Council. As such, best estimates indicate that it will be at least two years before final decisions on the Commission's proposals will be taken by Parliament and the Council.
At this early stage, the Commission's proposals have not been discussed in detail. In the context of such discussions, our approach in the first instance will be to obtain clarification from the Commission on its proposal to make all medicines for food producing animals subject to veterinary prescription, given that currently there is an absence of harmonisation at EU level as regards the operation of prescription regimes. Having obtained such clarification, my Department will be in a better position to assess the full implications of the proposals for Ireland. Ireland has already, prior to the emergence of these proposals, asked the Commission to address the harmonisation issue in order to improve regulation of the EU veterinary medicines market.
