John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am not a member of the committee but as a practising pharmacist and a politician I am very interested to hear the input of the witnesses. I understood that the cost of doing business is the topic under discussion, so I might make a few general comments on that.

Does crime predominantly affect pharmacies in cities and towns rather than those in rural areas, such as mine in north Kerry? Anecdotally, rural pharmacies are not affected by crime to the same extent as those in towns and cities. Listening to the story told by Ms Horan, I tried to imagine something similar happening in my or any other pharmacy. It must have been an horrific ordeal. Having heard of her experience, I will try to avail of the training that is available for staff because I have not yet done so. Many rural pharmacies would, perhaps, be well advised to take up that offering because an experience such as that endured by Ms Horan would leave a pharmacist and his or her staff very traumatised.

As regards the continually evolving issue of data protection, do the witnesses envisage any problems in that regard in terms of the sharing of CCTV footage and so on to aid the investigation of crime? Could that be an issue for pharmacists and, if so, should that be clarified?

I was struck by how the person staked out the premises in the morning and later carried out the crime. Are repeat offenders responsible for many such crimes? Are the same people repeatedly doing the same thing? Would it be possible for a pharmacists' body or union to consider a general bar on repeat offenders going into pharmacies? Those with a criminal record might be entitled to enter a pharmacy. They may have to make an appointment or similar to do so.

The cost of doing business involves expenses such as insurance, rates, rent, ESB bills, computer systems, backup for the computer systems, packaging and data protection. We were last week issued with letters relating to Garda vetting. There is continual pressure on businesses in terms of costs and there no longer seems to be an opportunity to recover cost.

Is there any sign of a reversal of the FEMPI cuts that were imposed on all pharmacies? I asked a question last week relating to GP issues. Pay restoration following FEMPI for most, if not all, public servants, such as teachers, gardaí, politicians and so on has begun but no progress seems to have been made on pay restoration for GPs or pharmacists. Has any progress been made in that regard or is something preventing that from happening?

Such restoration would prove beneficial because we provide a very valuable service.

Last year, at the IPU conference reference was made to a study conducted in either the UK or Canada on the impact of not having a pharmacy as a first line of care for many people. The study concluded that the payments we receive would fade into insignificance if we did not exist in the first place. That fact should be conveyed. Even though I am a pharmacist I wish to state that pharmacists provide a very valuable service and need more recognition.

In terms of crime, I have closed circuit television, CCTV, operating on my premises. Before installing the system I talked to the publican who runs a business across the road from my pharmacy. I did so in order to ensure that we cover as much area as possible so that if something happens and the criminals park their vehicle opposite his place that we can link in. Have community police linked as many businesses as possible on a street or in an area in order to maximise coverage? If so, the systems would provide enough recordings of the criminal activity to secure a conviction. I shall reiterate the simple suggestions of more visible policing, fast responses and tougher sentencing. I believe we should have more visible policing, in particular. If gardaí patrol the streets then there is less chance of something happening like what happened to Ms Horan. The presence of a garda would act as a preventative measure.