Agriculture Committee resumes debate on Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021

The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Veterinary Practice Act 2005 in order to make statutory provisions to prohibit ownership of veterinary practices by persons, other than a veterinary practitioner, in this Bill referred to as “eligible veterinary practitioners”. The Veterinary Practice Act 2005 currently allows ownership of veterinary practices by persons other than veterinary practitioners.

Speaking in advance of the meeting, Cathaoirleach, Jackie Cahill TD, said: “The Committee will continue its debate on the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2021 with the CCPC and VCI. The Bill ensures that veterinary practices can only be in the ownership of licensed vets, thus preventing private corporations from having undue control of the sector."

The Cathaoirleach added: “The “creeping” effect needs to be prevented from happening, this is where large corporate entities takeover veterinary practices one by one without any objections. It is crucial that there are robust regulations to stop this and that they are enforced, practices need to be owned by licenced veterinarians.”

The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

You can view the meeting in Committee Room 3 on the Oireachtas website.

More information can be found on the dedicated Committee Webpage. Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.