Legal action threatens to stall new vet meds rules

A legal submission from industry bodies could force the Department of Agriculture to indefinitely delay implementation of the new veterinary prescribing rules due to come into force on December 1.

All other prescribing rules, aside from those that were due to be put in place from December 1, have been in force since January 28 this year.

A legal submission from industry bodies could force the Department of Agriculture to indefinitely delay implementation of the new veterinary prescribing rules due to come into force in just a week’s time, the Irish Examiner understands.

The rules would have seen vets required to prescribe anti-parasitic medicines from December 1, and it become mandatory that all veterinary prescriptions are generated electronically using the National Veterinary Prescribing System (NVPS).