David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all of our witnesses. I thank them for the detailed briefing note that they supplied to the committee. I also commend them on the recommendations they have made. I know many of us have engaged with them on an ongoing basis. The asks are very credible and they would add significant value to the health service. I commend the witnesses on that work. They have brought an excellent set of proposals to us as a committee.

I will begin with medicine shortages, which seems to be one of those issues in healthcare that is now becoming an all-year-round problem. I have engaged with many pharmacists on this issue over the past number of months. It hit a critical point before Christmas 2022 and into the early part of the new year. Other European countries have a serious shortage protocol in place. In his opening statement, Mr. Twomey did not go into much detail on what model he would like to see in place. Would it be something similar to that protocol or what would he like to see put in place? I imagine the problem is that when there is a shortage of a particular medicine, a person has to go back to a GP to get a prescription if an alternative medication is needed, which delays the process and so on. That is not good for patients, in the first instance, and it creates more work for GPs. What is the IPU's proposition to circumvent or deal with that? Would it be something like that protocol or something similar? Has the IPU made any proposals to the Department in that regard?