Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 January 2026
227. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of veterinary practices that have registered with his Department as retailers to enable them to dispense prescription items not issued by them. [4758/26]
View answerThe number of veterinary practices that have registered with my Department as retailers is 77. The most recent figures from the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) workforce report published in May 2025 indicate that there are 764 total registered veterinary premises.
S.I. 462/2024 states that the following prescription only medicines (POM) can be dispensed from a premises which holds a retailer’s licence on receipt of a veterinary prescription:
(a) an intramammary veterinary medicinal product,
(b) an antifungal veterinary medicinal product,
(c) an antiparasitic veterinary medicinal product,
(d) an immunological veterinary medicinal product
(e) an injectable digestive stimulant, or
(f) an injectable vitamin and mineral.
While veterinary practices may generally dispense prescription only medicines to animals under their own care, by registering as a licensed retailer, a veterinary practice can dispense one of these products on receipt of a valid veterinary prescription issued by another veterinary practitioner.
