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Veterinary Medicines

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 April 2021

Thursday, 1 April 2021

Questions (384)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

384. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 2035 of 24 March 2021, the analysis his Department has carried out into the possibility of retrospectively amending SI 786 of 2007 to enable responsible persons to prescribe anti-parasitic medicines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17781/21]

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Written answers

Under Article 105(4) of Regulation 2019/6, which is directly applicable in EU Member States from January 2022, professionals other than veterinarians are permitted to prescribe certain veterinary medicines if a Member State facilitated this at the time the Regulation came into force in 2019. Such a system did not exist in Ireland at that time. The applicable legislative framework in Ireland has never extended rights to issue a veterinary prescription to any other professional other than a veterinarian. Therefore, my Department's view is that Ireland is not in a position to retrospectively avail of this derogation. This view has been informed through consideration and analysis by policy officials, consultation with the EU Commission and with internal legal advisors.

However, given the range of views on Article 105(4), my Department committed to seeking further legal advice from the Attorney General’s Office which was submitted in late 2020 and is receiving attention in that office currently.

The concerns specifically focus on the legislation as it impacts on the supply of anti-parasitic veterinary medicines, which here-to-fore were exempt from the need for a prescription and which route of supply was recently changed to requiring a prescription by the Health Product Regulatory Authority. This decision was as a result of evidence of the development of resistance to the medicines.

It is the intention of my Department to make a statement on the matter to all stakeholders when the advice is received.

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