Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for appearing before the committee and for their presentations. I apologise on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, who cannot be present.

I am aware that some medications were said to be in low supply in Ireland, and it has been suggested that this was due to companies being able to get a better price in other countries. Is this the case at present and, if so, what medications are in short supply and what is being done about that? It was mentioned in the presentations that as the price of medicines gets lower there will be medicine shortages. In Spain, Portugal and such places - one may be talking about different medications - the cost of many basic medicines is much lower. I wonder why, if this is the case, there do not appear to be any shortages in the supply of those medications, which are often a tenth of the price that people pay in Ireland.

Ms Sandra Gannon mentioned savings of €113 million and said she had met the HSE and the Department of Health. That is a huge amount of money in the overall health budget. Why have these proposals not been implemented if they are so straightforward? Have the witnesses been given any explanation as to why they have not been implemented?

A recent report on Ireland suggested that up to 70% of medications by volume are now generic. Maybe I picked that up wrong. I think there was a reference in one of the presentations to 34%. Perhaps the witnesses would explain that issue.

What savings have been made to date on the cost of medicines in the State, and how does that compare to other member states? What progress has been made on reducing unnecessary prescribing under the general medical services, GMS, scheme? Is a budget cap for pharmaceutical expenditure being considered? How is the behaviour of prescribers monitored, and has progress been made since the commencement of the 2013 Act? What is the current volume and value of generics in total pharmaceutical expenditure and how has this changed over time following the commencement of the 2013 Act? It was stated that the prices of some medicines had fallen by 85% and that Ireland is no longer paying above the EU average.

That can only be a good thing. It was also stated that some prices are falling and are now at 2001 or 2002 levels. If they are now at 2001 or 2002 levels, the question of why they were so expensive in between arises.

In the second session this morning we have a presentation from Healthwave, the retail pharmacy business that caters for all State drugs schemes as well as private patients. I know the member of the deputation have not seen the presentation, but they would be perfectly aware of the business. That company seems to be able to provide a low-cost service. What are the views of the witnesses on that?