DEFRA assurances on veterinary medicine supply problems to Northern Ireland do not match scale of concerns raised, says MP
Government assurances that there will be limited disruption to the supply of veterinary medicines to NI from the new year do not match the scale of concerns raised by veterinary and farming leaders, a leading MP has warned.
UUP MP Robin Swan fired the shot across the bows of the government after attending a meeting of the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly this week - where he is the only NI MP.
His warning comes only days after former SDLP leader Baroness Margaet Ritchie told the House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee that the government has decided to do nothing on the issue until it sees how serious the situation might becomes in 2026.
The peers heard from a range of NI agricultural leaders that up to 40% of veterinary medicines currently supplied to Northern Ireland from Great Britain could be discontinued from 1 January; One expected problem is that suppliers will stop supplying the smaller pack sizes are affordable to smaller NI farms.
After Brexit Northern Ireland remained within the EU Single Market for Goods. This means pharmaceuticals cannot come into NI from GB without testing to confirm they meet EU standards. An EU grace period means the rules will only be enforced from 1 January 2026.
Mr Swann said he stressed the pressures facing Northern Ireland over the issue when he attended the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly this week.
Speaking afterwards, he said: “We are now looking at a number of crises in the next few weeks in regards to the number of veterinary medicines allowed into Northern Ireland because of the Windsor Framework.
“When we put animal health at risk, we put human health at risk.”
Mr Swann also urged fellow members of the EU-UK PPA to "stop treating the people of Northern as political footballs as you pursue your own political agendas - whether it’s in the European Parliament or whether it’s in this place".
He noted that the UK and EU found a solution to exempt human medicines from the same restrictions and therefore the UK and EU can do it again “if the will is there".
Quoting a letter from DEFRA, he said: “The government insists disruption will be ‘limited’, but this does not match the concerns being raised across the veterinary, farming and animal rescue sectors. Northern Ireland cannot be expected to rely on temporary schemes pulled together at the last minute.”
The News Letter asked Whitehall’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) if it was true the Government had decided to do nothing about the crisis until it sees how bad the situation becomes.
A DEFRA spokesperson responded: "We continue to engage with industry and have taken steps to ensure the continued supply of veterinary medicines, launching two schemes to help with any gaps. We remain confident that there will be limited disruption at the end of the year."
The Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme and the Veterinary Medicine Health Situation Scheme will allow NI vets to prescribe medicines not authorised in NI if animal suffering or public health demand it
Stakeholders also told the Lords committee there had been limited engagement from the Stormont Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) - and that it advises it is not its responsibility.
DAERA responded that Minister Andrew Muir "remains committed to protecting public health and food security" but that DEFRA is responsible for these matters, according to the Windsor Framework. He too flagged up the two government schemes aiming to address any problems.