New veterinary medicines rules will put small independent traders out of business, minister warned
Move under the new Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023 would deem all antiparasitic veterinary drugs to be prescription only.
A range of veterinary medicines, currently available over the counter, will become prescription only from September 1.
But agriculture minister Martin Heydon has been urged to postpone the implementation of the new regulations.
Senator P J Murphy called on him in the Upper House to conduct a full and independent review of the economic and social impact before the sector is regrettably and permanently damaged.
He said the move under the new Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023 would deem all antiparasitic veterinary drugs to be prescription only.
These remedies are used on farms on a day-to-day basis to treat cattle for conditions such as worms, fluke and lice.
Mr Murphy said the products were on the market under tight Department of Agriculture control, with experienced well-trained staff providing advice to farmers at the point of sale.
According to new EU harmonised legislation, prescribing must be undertaken by veterinary practitioners, who are also permitted to sell and dispense these products.
Most importantly, there is no requirement for vets to keep prescribing and dispensing separate from one another, creating a concerning conflict of interest.
“This shift is not just a regulatory update. It is an economic and structural seismic shift to the many small independent licensed traders across this country.
“According to the Central Statistics Office, Ireland's veterinary medicines market is worth approximately €400m annually.
“While €300m of this already ends up with veterinary practitioners, the remaining €100m goes to a network of small, independent merchants and co-ops found in towns and villages across rural Ireland,” he said.
Mr Murphy said the Independent Licensed Merchants Association, which represents 350 of these smaller merchants countrywide, warns only 38 of its members can remain in business under these new rules.
“That is a potential loss of nearly 90% of this industry. This is a choice that is anti-competitive,” he said.
He said the justification given for this change was the need to combat antimicrobial resistance and improve traceability and oversight via the national veterinary prescription system, which requires all prescriptions to be on a central controlled database.
“However, as a person who has worked my whole life in the cattle farming sector and administered these medications on thousands of occasions, I assure this House that we as farmers are not in the habit of overusing these expensive medications and do not use them when they are not necessary.
“I have great fear that it could also lead to an increase in the purchasing of these medicines through black market sources,” he said.
Mr Murphy said while the goals of health and EU compliance were important, implementation must reflect Irish rural reality.
Without safeguards for independent merchants, this regulation risks creating a dangerous monopoly in the veterinary medicine distribution sector, he said.
Fine Gael senator Mark Duffy said from discussions he had with the farming community in Co Mayo, there were serious concerns about the upcoming proposals and changes and how these threatened to monopolise the market.
“We need to have a discussion before these changes are brought into effect because it could have serious ramifications and increases in cost for farmers,” he said.
Senator Sean Kyne, leader of the House, said the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act was passed in the Houses of the Oireachtas in the summer of 2023.
“That is the law we are working with. There may be some sections that are now being commenced, but the law has been agreed and passed. There were debates on those matters at the time.
“I will raise this matter again with the minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon. Perhaps there are issues with the commencement of some of these regulations,” he said.
