Mr. Dermot Twomey:

There are not additional charges in that case. Unfortunately, the pharmacist is doing what they can for the patient, but it is time and resource intensive and that is the issue. If we join all the dots with our conversations today, we are trying to make healthcare more accessible for the patients, reduce the bureaucracy and improve health outcomes. For example, in the therapeutic substitution which my colleague mentioned, rather than have those steps, going back to the doctor, the patient waiting or the patient coming back later, the pharmacist would make that change under the serious shortage protocol.

With the minor ailment-type scheme we spoke about, if a person presents in the pharmacy with a simple skin infection, athlete's foot or something similar, we can deal with it without referring them to the GP. Regarding contraception for females, as Ms Maher alluded to, it is available in her pharmacy late in the evenings or at weekends. Young females may be working and may not be available to attend the GP during the week. It is all about making it accessible. We would like this committee to look at how the amendments to Schedule 8 can be done in order to move things forward. We have shown not just nationally but internationally that every time pharmacy has been involved in a new service, it has been a roaring success. This has been proven with vaccination and with any of the other services we have provided. Getting out of the starting blocks is the key point. The community pharmacy sector is willing and able, and very much wanting to get out of the starting blocks.