Antiparasitic medicines will become prescription only from January
The Minister says he is trying to ensure that prescription medication does not impact upon competition in the market. Picture: David Creedon.
When antiparasitic medicines become prescription-only, from January 28, 2022, substitute medicines will be allowed, rather than particular branded veterinary medicines.
This will sustain competition for all suppliers of veterinary medicines, to the benefit of Irish farmers and their livestock, said Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue.
He said he is trying to ensure that prescription-based issuing does not impact on the capacity for competition in the market.
He aims for a prescription basis mechanism to ensure competition remains, with continuing availability of sources of the prescription for farmers.
“I am continuing to work through this and looking at the situation to try to find a way that ensures that we are compliant, that we address the issues of antimicrobial and antiparasitic resistance, that we ensure that there is competition in the market, and that we do not add costs to farmers.“
He confirmed that all existing retailers of veterinary medicine, including licensed merchants and veterinary pharmacists, will continue to be legally permitted to sell antiparasitic medicines.
“I fully support the report by the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food, and the Marine and the observation it made that licensed merchants and veterinary pharmacists provide an excellent service to farmers in rural Ireland.”
However, in line with EU law, antiparasitic medicines can only be supplied on foot of a veterinary prescription, issued by a registered professional practitioner, from next January.
The Minister said his Department has availed of legal advice to assess Ireland's options for separating the prescribing and dispensing of veterinary medicines, known as decoupling.
But decoupling does not currently appear to be a viable option, because it is the Department's view was that there was an absence of a sound veterinary medicine evidential basis for a partial or full decoupling, to justify any partial or full prohibition on veterinarians selling the veterinary medicines that they prescribe.
The Minister noted that all other EU member states issue medicines on a prescription basis already.
In 2014, the EU moved to develop fit-for-purpose veterinary legislation, which would no longer be based on the equivalent human medicines authorisation system.
Subsequently, EU legislation for authorisation, use, and monitoring of veterinary medicine products came into effect on January 28, 2019. It will apply to all EU member states from January 28 next year.
Up to now, Ireland has availed of a derogation, as did the UK, with regard to prescription or sale of antiparasitics through merchants. The derogation is no longer available.
“Our legal advice is clear that it requires prescription-based issuing,” said the Minister. Along with the EU regulation Ireland must comply with, he emphasised that antimicrobial resistance and antiparasitic resistance both pose significant challenges to Irish farmers and to human health, which must be addressed.
Minister McConalogue was responding in the Dáil to Independent TD for Clare, Michael McNamara, who also said the purpose of the changed legislation is to reduce overuse of antibiotics, antimicrobials and antiparasitics, so that we do not have a build-up of resistance.
But he asked that the Minister's Department continue to look at decoupling of prescriptions from dispensing. He warned of a potential monopoly where large conglomerates that own veterinary practices have a monopoly on both dispensing and prescription of animal medicines.
