The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has announced a public consultation on updating fees it charges on the authorisation of veterinary medicines.

The HPRA has already said that, following an internal review of its own income and cost levels, it has proposed no general increase in its veterinary fees for 2027.

However, in making that decision, the HPRA said it is mindful of its increasing underlying cost base, reflecting inflation, anticipated national pay awards, additional staffing requirements, and investment needed to meet statutory requirements.

Therefore, the HPRA said it will review the decision not to increase veterinary medicine fees in time for the 2028 fee-setting process.

The body said that this approach "should provide stakeholders with short-term certainty while allowing the HPRA to assess more fully the financial impact of remit changes, implementation requirements and activity levels".

The HPRA also said that, as part of a wider government drive to minimise administrative burden, it will continue to review that new and existing processes are "simple and transparent, with information requirements that are proportionate, easy for applicants to provide and practical for the HPRA to process".

The consultation on the HPRA fee structure, and how to proceed with fees going forward, is open to submission until October 31.

The authority said that respondents are encouraged to explain, where applicable, the likely impact on their organisation and to provide supporting evidence where available.

The HPRA said it has primarily run the regulation of veterinary medicines authorisation, manufacturer and wholesaler operationswithout exchequer funding, and says it has "established sufficient reserves" to allow it to fund capital and IT expenditure and deal with unexpected costs as these arise.

The authority said it is one of its priorities to match resources from fee income with current work volumes and to plan for future activity.

It reviews its fees annually to ensure that income remains aligned with regulatory activity, service requirements and the cost of delivering its functions.

The new consultation sets out the outcome of the 2027 review, including the operating and financial context, anticipated changes in activity and remit, the resulting risks and uncertainties, and the proposed fee arrangements for 2027.