Mr. Darragh O'Loughlin:

There is definite complementarity and no reason for any professional group to feel threatened by the activities of any other. To put it bluntly, as one of the HSE national directors did recently, there is more work to be done than we can do. There is more work available for health care professionals than can be done.

On the question of poly drug use and abuse of prescription medicines, this has been an issue and it is becoming a greater issue for some of our members because people who are addicted to medicines such as benzodiazepines cannot access them.

They cannot get access to them by getting a prescription from doctors because doctors are becoming a little more scrupulous or careful about prescribing these medicines. Our members are being robbed at knifepoint and gunpoint and at the point of baseball bats by people who are desperate for drugs either for themselves or to sell them. We are acutely aware of that. We had engaged previously with the Minister of State with responsibility for primary care before the drafting of the amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act. We were as keen as she was to do something to help to alleviate this problem. There are prescribing guidelines in place for benzodiazepines and we have published these guidelines on our website. All our members are aware of them and of their responsibilities in this area.

Pharmacists are in contact with and talk to one another. In every community pharmacists get to know the community and that some prescriptions are more genuine than others. They become immediately suspicious of people who go to one doctor for all their treatment and then suddenly appear to go to another doctor for a prescription for a particular item. We talk to each other and lift the telephone all the time. In my area, the western region, the HSE has put in place what is termed a cascade system. If I have suspicions about a prescription, I ring the next pharmacy or two pharmacies on the cascade. They know, in turn, the next two pharmacists to ring and therefore within minutes every pharmacy in the region has been alerted to the fact that some prescriptions are doing the rounds which may not be as authentic as they might appear at first glance.

There was a question about price variations for emergency hormonal contraception, colloquially known as the morning after pill. We do not have a role in pricing. We are scrupulous about ensuring that we do not make the mistake of thinking we have a role in what prices are charged by private pharmacies to private patients. Under competition law it would not be appropriate for us to take a view on that. I accept the point that there is considerable price variation. The first pharmacy to bring that service to market charged €45 at the time. This compared rather well to what it would have cost to go to a general practitioner and secure a prescription. All I can say is that within local markets pharmacies compete with each other to deliver the best value they can. Anyway, we cannot take a position on the price that they charge for competition reasons. I absolutely agree it is ludicrous that a woman who needs access to emergency contraception and who has a medical card should have to choose between getting it on time by paying for it or having to wait to get a prescription so that she can get it later. As we all know, the sooner the medication is taken, the more effective it is and it effectiveness drops off rapidly as time passes. This is a strong argument in favour of the minor ailment scheme that we wish to roll out with a view to improving access to medicines. I hope I have answered everyone's questions.