Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the witnesses. Living in Dundalk, I am very aware that there has been a significant difference in the price of prescribed drugs in the Republic versus the price payable for the same medicines in the North. Many constituents have contacted me to say the price of their prescribed drugs is much lower across the Border and, in some cases, four to seven times lower. Coming from a business background, I would like to see the pharmaceutical industry producing a recommended price list for all generic drugs which would be available to all relevant parties, including doctors and patients. That would lead to a more open and transparent system for everybody.

As a Dundalk person, I am very much aware that Teva employs more than 500 people in Ireland, some of them in my own town. It must be doing something right when it is on top of the market. Ms Gannon referred to potential savings of €130 million in four specific areas, which is nothing to be sniffed at. The first of these areas, in which a saving of €60 million could be made, would involve opening up competition in the low-volume medicine market, which Ms Gannon tells us costs taxpayers in the region of €200 million per year. Will she explain what she means by low-volume medicines? She referred to a saving of €25 million that could be made by instructing hospitals to switch from expensive biological medicines to more affordable options. What has her company done to encourage that? Ms Gannon identified a further saving of €15 million to be made by allowing pharmacists to dispense more affordable generic medicines to patients who present for the first time. She indicated that generic drugs dispensing has jumped from 34% to 40% of the total market.

How do the witnesses find the quality of generic drugs? People fear a change from a known drug to a generic one. What confidence can the witnesses give them that generic drugs do what they claim on the label?

Mention was made of inhaler devices, with one in every eight people having some form of asthma. Ms Gannon stated that a saving of €18 million could be made in that regard. Will she elaborate further on the figure of €113 million? I am a firm believer in the saying "Your health is your wealth", but many people cannot afford to buy drugs.