Veterinary Ireland is to hold an emergency meeting in the Horse and Jockey Hotel in Co Tipperary on Monday night ahead of imminent changes to rules around the sale and supply veterinary medicines.

The new changes under the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023 and the imminent signing of a statutory instrument are to be discussed.

Once signed by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, the regulation will completely change the rules for veterinary prescribing and the routes of supply of veterinary medicines, making veterinary medicinal chemicals, including anti-parasitics and vaccines, Veterinary Ireland, the group which represents vets, says.

This, it said, will make such medicines freely available to the agricultural sector and the public.

Changes

Changes will be around the prescribing of anti-parasitics and changes to the routes of supply for veterinary medicinal products, including prescription-only medicines and vaccines.

A national veterinary prescription system (NVPS) will also be introduced once the regulation is signed.

Veterinary Ireland is saying that the rule will have implications for public health, animal health and welfare, the agricultural sector and the veterinary profession.

Options

Current options open to Veterinary Ireland to address this issue include participation in NVPS, Animal Health Ireland participation, TB forum and the animal health computer system co-operation, provision of out-of-hours services and costing of veterinary services in a decoupled model of veterinary practice.

Speaking ahead of the meeting on Monday Veterinary Ireland president Hazel Mullins said that the proposals will have significant consequences for farm animal veterinary services in Ireland.

" Ireland has just 600 active farm animal vets which in turn has caused the urgency for the establishment of a new vet school in Ireland. However this SI [Statutory Instrument] threatens the loss of a further 23% of farm vets in practice in the immediate future, Mullins maintained.

Out of hours service

This, she added, will put exponential pressure on the farm vet sector especially when it comes to providing an out of hours service.

"This is not confined to the more rural areas of Ireland but all farming communities. This SI means that our medicine laws are not in line with the rest of Europe which in turn risks Ireland’s upstanding reputation as a food producer Veterinary Ireland will endeavour to ensure that farm vets in Ireland continue to provide the upstanding service to farmers for many years to come something that this SI now jeopardises," Mullins said.