The Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Bill 2023 has completed passage through the Seanad, with the amendments tabled there now referred back to the Dáil for consideration.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine was present at the debate in the Seanad yesterday evening (Wednesday, June 28) in which a number of final amendments were made.
When the Dáil completes its consideration of these amendments, the bill will be ready to be signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins.
Speaking after the bill was deemed passed in the fifth and final stage of the Seanad, Minister McConalogue said: “It is a significant legislation on two fronts.
“One is the introduction of a fertiliser register which makes a great deal of sense. It means we can have full line-of-sight awareness of fertiliser use nationally, ensure it is used appropriately and proportionally, ensure we are stepping out our sustainability agenda, and ascertain that everybody uses fertiliser in the way is should be used.”
“The legislation is also important in respect of the challenge facing all of us that is crucial not only to our food production but also to human health. This is the aspect of antimicrobial resistance [AMR] and antiparasitic resistance [APR],” he added.
The minister said that the law would put in place “a system whereby the prescribing and management of these substances and the regime around this process will change significantly, ensuring there will be prescription and veterinary oversight of how this happens for all these products while at the same time ensuring there is availability in the market place”.
“We have much work to do in addressing the significant challenges for animal and human health that have emerged in recent years and decades concerning resistance issues. That is what the legislation is aimed at,” he added.
“This will not be something just for this bill to address but something that must be addressed at all policy and practice levels.”
Also commenting on the bill, senator Victor Boyhan said: “We have engaged extensively with stakeholders. Initially, people were not happy but they have travelled on a journey.
He added: “Sometimes we must push people along, but this measure was undertaken in compliance with [an EU] requirement. It was not something we necessarily wanted.
“It makes sense though, and it is right that we should pursue it. We had to do a bit of convincing along the way,” Boyhan commented.
The senator said: “Farmers do not need lectures about ecosystems, compliance or biodiversity. They do not need lectures about animal welfare. Their livelihoods are crucially linked to the sustainability of agriculture, their animals and their land.”