Mattie McGrath Urges Chemists' Role in Animal Medicine Safety
Mattie McGrath spoke on the role of pharmacists and chemists in supplying medicines and prescriptions for farmers and animals, arguing they should be involved and their expertise used to protect safety. He noted concerns among suppliers and providers about their futures and referenced the Irish Pharmacy Union and John Cole.
Main point
McGrath said the priority is proper safety and the availability of medicines and prescriptions for farmers and people with animals. He argued that pharmacists and chemists should be part of the response to ensure those standards.
Pharmacists and chemists' role
He called for the Irish Pharmacy Union to be able to look into the matter and for chemists to use their professional expertise. McGrath emphasised that accumulated experience in pharmacies is valuable in dealing with animal health issues.
Suppliers' concerns
McGrath acknowledged that many suppliers and providers are worried about their futures amid changes in the sector. He presented those concerns alongside his call for safeguarding access to medicines for farm animals.
Historical experience and animal welfare
He recalled that many chemists, including John Cole, had provided effective cures for people and farm animals in the past. McGrath said that practical, decades-long experience in pharmacies is important for addressing animal welfare and animal diseases.
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Look, this area is a difficult area. Many of the suppliers and providers out there are concerned about their futures, but above all, we need proper safety and proper medicines and proper prescriptions being available to farmers and to all people with animals. So if the IP at the Irish Pharmacy Union obviously want to have a look into it, obviously many of the time, John Cole, you remember and I remember that many chemists gave us a good cure for not only for ourselves, but also for many of the farm animals. So I believe they should have some involvement and should be able to use their professional expertise and their accumulated experience expertise was probably more important in dealing with issues relating to animal welfare and animal diseases over the decades.
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