FARMERS FACING HIGHER COSTS UNDER NEW ANTIPARASITIC RULES
ICSA Animal Health and Welfare chair John Barron has said farmers are already seeing the impact of the upcoming move to prescription-only antiparasitic medicines, following a warning issued this week by a licensed merchant to its customers about looming price increases once the new rules take effect on 1 December 2025.
“Farmers are now being told directly 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. That extra cost has to be covered somehow, and in the end it will land on farmers. There is no point pretending otherwise,” he said.
Mr Barron said this is exactly what ICSA has been warning about for years. “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.”
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.
He 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.”
“In addition, only recently export customers for Irish weanlings complained that too many animals were arriving at marts without being properly dosed or vaccinated. That tells you everything. Farmers are not overusing. If anything, they are trying to keep costs down as it is.”
Concluding, Mr Barron said, “We have spoken to everyone involved, and the same concerns come up again and again. This approach will undermine licensed merchants, add cost, add delay, and create unnecessary hassle without delivering any real improvement. Everyone can see that – except the Department.”
He said ICSA is calling on Minister Heydon to push this back again and work towards a solution that doesn’t heap extra cost and pressure on farmers or licensed merchants.
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