The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has been notified of the acquisition of north Cork-based Acorn Veterinary Clinic by the Independent Vet Care (IVC) group. Following this notice, the CCPC will examine the impact of the acquisition on the market. The deadline for submissions is 22 May. Operating clinics in Kildorrey and Mallow, the veterinary practice provides large animal and small/companion animal care in the north Cork region.
Independent Vetcare Ireland Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of IVC Acquisitions Limited, which in turn is part of the IVC Evidensia group of companies. Based in 20 countries, IVC Evidensia is a provider of veterinary care and related ancillary services and comprises of a network of around 2,600 clinics, hospitals and out-of-hours centres. It comes as Fianna Fáil’s agriculture spokesperson Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere TD seeks to reintroduce a proposal to Dáil Éireann that looks to ban corporate entities from owning veterinary practices.
Originally brought forward by former TD Jackie Cahill, the amendment revived by Cleere has the aim of limiting ownership of veterinary practices to qualified veterinary practitioners.
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