The transition period for the requirement of a veterinary prescription for anti-parasitic medicines has been extended to December this year, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has confirmed.

Under these rules, anti-parasitic medicines will require a prescription from a vet before they can be purchased.

The minister said he acknowledged stakeholder concerns arising from “recent unexpected developments” at global and national level.

“I have listened to our stakeholders and understand that, while they are working closely with us to ensure the best possible systems are introduced, some unexpected challenges have arisen.”

The reasons for the extension are a combination of supply chain issues for these medicines and the software system for the National Veterinary Prescribing System (NVPS), which requires more time to be developed, the minister noted.

“We are advised that companies are experiencing supply chain challenges attributable to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, and we acknowledge that, to ensure the best possible NVPS, the software developers need more time to ensure a seamless transition,” he said.

The transition period will now end on December 1 next, which the minister said would “give sufficient time for such unexpected challenges to be addressed”.

The minister also confirmed that the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feeds and Fertilisers Regulation Bill 2022 will be put before Cabinet shortly.

He commented: “Stakeholders have shown real commitment to ensuring we implement these changes that will help farmers tackle antiparasitic and antimicrobial resistance, resulting in long-term positive outcomes for human and animal health, and improving the agri-food sector’s efficiency and productivity.”

On the NVPS software, Minister McConalogue said the extension would allow time for “further refinement”.

“My officials and IT developers are already working with users and providers, and I am thankful for their constructive feedback. My team and the IT developers will use this additional time to fine tune and further enhance the NVPS,” he said.

The minister added: “This will result in a dynamic application which users can interact with either as a standalone system or through integration with other software products.”