Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

Will the Minister accept that there is an urgency to this matter? Does she not find it extraordinary that animals here have better protection against pharmacy malpractice than humans? Does she not have a serious concern that the registry body has no power to strike pharmacists off the register? It has power only to put people on the register. In its estimate, two to three pharmacists should be struck off the register each year. That is the approximate level of malpractice. Does the Minister accept that she has responsibility to ensure not just fitness to practise legislation is speeded through the House, but also fitness to operate a pharmacy? Fitness to operate a pharmacy has not been mentioned and I ask her to include it and comment on it.

We are all conscious of scandals, for example, where terrible things were done by Dr. Shipman. The role of the pharmacy in that scandal is relevant and germane to this issue where we do not have proper regulation. If such a scandal arises here, which seems more likely than unlikely, will the Department be exposed to litigation because of its failure to deal with what is clearly a matter of protection and public safety?

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