Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has signed the Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulations 2024 into law.
The regulations provide for tighter controls around the “prudent use” of antiparasitic medications. This includes the upregulation of all antiparasitics to prescription-only medicine (POM) status.
With antiparasitics now available only on foot of a veterinary prescription issued by a veterinary practitioner, the central role of professional veterinary advice in determining the necessity and suitability of anti-parasitic products will be reinforced.
The Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feeds and Fertiliser Regulation Act was introduced in July 2023. The act provides the minister with powers to make regulations on areas of EU regulations that may be determined by national law.
The Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulations aim to address antimicrobial and antiparasitic resistance by ensuring prudent use of veterinary medicinal products and will provide for:
- The regulation of retail and internet sales of veterinary medicinal products (VMPs);
- The possession, administration and storage of VMPs and medicated feed;
- Licensing of importation of certain VMPs and mediated feed;
- Rules pertaining to prescribing of prescription-only medicines (POM), including antiparasitics;
- Introduction of a mandatory electronic national veterinary prescription system (NVPS), which will be required to be used by all dispensers of POMs, including a responsible person at a licensed retailer such as a co-op.
The aim of the regulations is to address the significant ‘One Health’ challenge of antimicrobial and antiparasitic resistance and to ensure the continuation of the current supply channels of veterinary medicines.
Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulations
Minister McConalogue said his focus has been on ensuring “appropriate and prudent use” of antimicrobial and antiparasitic veterinary medicines, but without undermining existing supply channels for farmers through retailers, including licensed merchants and co-operatives.
The introduction of a “Proper Assessment Protocol” for the prescribing of anti-parasitic veterinary medicinal products will facilitate this, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said.
The minister acknowledged that, despite the significant process of consultation in recent years, stakeholders had a range of concerns and perspectives on the changes being brought forward.
Commenting on the regulations, the minister said: “In finalising these regulations, I sought to strike a reasonable balance between the differing viewpoints of stakeholders, without compromising on the overall objective.
“There has been extensive engagement, which was important, but it is also important to bring clarity to matters that have been under consideration for some time.
“It is vital that appropriate veterinary expertise is brought to bear when it comes to prescribing medicines, but equally that farmers have access to these medicines from a variety of supply channels at reasonable cost.
“I am satisfied that these regulations achieve those objectives.”