Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to come back to the cost of drugs. In the entire period 2000-10, when the cost of drugs increased by more than 230% to 240%, no one flagged this increase, not the medical profession, nor the Department or politicians. Everyone gave the impression that this could continue forever. We are now trying to back-track on it. We have to work on this area. On the discussion about the prescribing of drugs in hospitals, I have met hospital doctors and they have advised me of their continuing concerns that patients are presenting in hospital who are on unnecessary medication, a situation which makes it more difficult for hospital doctors who are dealing with a more serious condition in many cases.

The issue of budgets keeps arising. I refer to the increase in the cost of drugs in the ten-year period. Are there other areas which have not been flagged and where savings could be made? I believe there are other issues about wasting of resources of which I am not aware but which general practitioners may know about. Could those resources be made available to the GP care to which the witnesses referred? We are all in this together. I agree with the percentage of the average spend on GP care being lower than in other EU countries. I acknowledge we need to do more but we need to start making savings in other areas in order to do that. Can we work together to identify and tackle the wastage?