Ms Kathy Maher:

There is a challenge. I have a pharmacy in County Meath and have been there for 24 years. I have seen various stages of growth and decline. The challenge is in all areas. It is in our remuneration, our workforce and our capacity to practice and deliver the service I want to deliver given the bureaucracy, for example, having 13 tabs open just to see if a patient is eligible for a particular medicine. All of that is a challenge in terms of trying to drive the sector and profession forward and still maintain a clinical job satisfaction at the end of the day when I have served my patients. Both rural and urban pharmacies need us to make sure pharmacy has a strategic vision and plan, which will best serve Irish patients.