There is concern around "looming price increases" for farmers once new antiparasitic product rules take effect in the coming days.

According to the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) animal health and welfare chairperson John Barron, farmers are "already seeing the impact of the upcoming move to prescription-only antiparasitic medicines".

From December 1, all antiparasitic medicines will become prescription-only medicines.

The ICSA said farmers are being warned that "prices are going to rise".

"Some merchants have had no choice but to hire a vet, or will have to hire a vet, just to keep supplying farmers," Barron explained.

"That extra cost has to be covered somehow, and in the end it will land on farmers. There is no point pretending otherwise."

Common antiparasitic treatments

Barron said that any time "extra red tape" is added, it is "never cost-neutral".

"It always lands back on the farmer. This is just another example of a policy designed in an office with no regard for the realities on the ground," according to Barron.

Under the new rules, common antiparasitic treatments like wormers and fluke doses will require a veterinary prescription through the National Veterinary Prescription System (NVPS).

Farmers will no longer be able to buy these products directly from co-ops or licensed merchants without first obtaining a prescription.

'Double standards'

ICSA's John Barron said the situation is made "even harder to accept because of clear double standards in EU policy".

"Brussels keeps tightening the screw on Irish farmers while waving through meat from countries that wouldn’t know a regulation if it hit them in the face. That is simply not fair," he said.

The ICSA has said there is a fear the new rules will "undermine licensed merchants, add cost, add delay, and create unnecessary hassle without delivering any real improvement".

The ICSA is calling on Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon to "push this back again" and "work towards a solution that doesn’t heap extra cost and pressure" on farmers or licensed merchants.