Michael Fitzmaurice urges rebrand to Veterinary Technician

You just have to understand that you're sitting tomorrow on the Veterinary Medicine Board, is that right? And you're sitting on a board that you cannot prescribe anything? No, it's the board for the new veterinary course, the college that's down in Waterford, it's not the Veterinary Council. And what input will you have if you haven't administered the powers yourselves, you're sitting on a board? It's an industry board, so they're getting opinions from people across Ireland involved in the veterinary profession. It's to inform their new veterinary course. May I say something, and Victor and myself were just talking here. I think you should go in and rebrand all this to a veterinary technician. And put all, like I said, being able to test cattle, being able to prescribe drugs, and whatever course you do, liaise with the colleges. And that while you wouldn't be doing certain things that the vets would do, that it would give you a recognition, and that it would give you status, and that it would give you the backing of the department and there to liaise on the animal medicines thing. I think you need a full... That is already in place, we do have the protected title in legislation that there's clear guidelines of what a nurse can and can't do. Yeah, but what you can and cannot do, unless you get a new title, at the moment what you can and cannot do is, I can go in and do nearly the same as you with no disrespect here, because I cannot prescribe a medicine, you cannot prescribe a medicine. I cannot operate or put stuff into a dog or whatever, you cannot do it. So you need to have a status through the college, through the department, and liaise, in my opinion, on the legal side of it, that covers you to be able to do a lot of new things, that takes that pressure off those vets that are out all night and day when cows are calving. Because they are under pressure, some of them. But unless that happens, and in my opinion, unless there's an overarching body over VCI that gives you recognition, because to be quite frank with you, I don't know if it's seven or eight parks, I thought it was nine to one. If you're going into... What's the best will in the world? If you evade people from my parish and one from yours, well now I'd say that more stuff will be coming to my parish. Do you understand me? I'm being honest with you. Unless the thing is balanced up and that you get more... I believe that you should get more things that you can do and responsibilities, yeah. And there's a lot of stuff out there. Does export to cattle? In France, a veterinary technician can do it. But here in Ireland, it's closed shop. That's the problem. And then they'll dictate when they'll come out to you and when they won't come out to you. So why can't we be the same as other European countries and under the animal medicines that we should be able to do the same?