A resignation letter submitted by the former president of the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) was withdrawn to allow the vet regulator to consider the impact any blow-back associated with the departure could have on “public confidence and trust”.

The VCI announced that its president Joseph Walsh stepped down last week having served just seven months of his term.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that Walsh failed a Department of Agriculture TB herd test inspection and was suspended for conducting TB tests for a number of weeks.

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The regulatory body did not disclose the reason for the departure in its statement, which thanked the Carrick-on-Suir-based vet for his “dedicated service and valued contribution” to the profession and the general public.

The VCI has said that Walsh told the council’s acting registrar that an issue arose “in his professional capacity as a private veterinary practitioner”.

Advised

The council itself was advised of this matter on 8 July and the issue was placed on its next meeting’s agenda.

A resignation letter submitted by Walsh on 23 July was subsequently withdrawn on 28 July “to discuss and consider whether the matter had any implications for public confidence and trust in the VCI as the statutory regulator of the veterinary professions,” the VCI has said.

The matter was raised at a 30 July council meeting and further discussed on 21 and 26 August, from which Walsh was absent to allow deliberations to proceed objectively.

A second letter of resignation submitted by Walsh on 24 August was accepted by the council last Thursday.

“As the programme operates under the regulatory and administrative framework of DAFM, any matters relating to the suspension of an individual’s participation in Bovine Tuberculosis testing are managed directly by DAFM,” VCI added.

Non-compliance

The VCI had previously stated to the Irish Farmers Journal that vets’ non-compliances with TB testing procedures are not routinely flagged with the regulatory body.

“Where issues arise that may raise questions about a practitioner’s professional conduct, such matters may be brought to [the] VCI attention at the discretion of the Department, so that they can be considered within the veterinary council’s regulatory remit,” it said last year.

The Irish Farmers Journal’s queries to the regulatory body were prompted by a warning from the State’s spending watchdog that “poor quality testing can result in undetected TB cases in herds”.

The Comptroller and Auditor General’s warning came amid ballooning TB reactor numbers nationwide that were putting Exchequer funding for the TB programme under strain.

The report also flagged that vets found to have carried out TB herd testing improperly are not prohibited for undertaking further tasks on the Department’s behalf.

The Irish Farmers Journal reached out to CCW Carrick Vets Ltd for which Walsh practices for comment on the TB matters.