Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for my late arrival, I was getting my booster jab, which I decided was important. I understand you were discussing the House of Lords letter before I arrived. It raises some very interesting questions about pharmaceuticals, medicines, licensing and the like. Are we running into any difficulties with British medicines imports in the Republic? Is it causing any difficulty at our ports and for our health system? Boots operates in the South as well as the North.

Is it suffering difficulties? Are we aware of that and has any of that come to our attention? It cannot be only a Northern problem. We must be having some problems too, certainly in relation to over-the-counter products. Many of them used to be made in Britain, and a lot of British products are available in Ireland. On pharmaceutical and quasi-pharmaceutical products, there are chains like Boots functioning in both jurisdictions. Are we suffering problems that are different from those being encountered in Northern Ireland? Would the outcome of the current negotiations, including the possibility of arriving at some middle-ground solution, have any implications for us in this State?