John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

And the Government, yes. Nobody should be excluded because we are all stakeholders in finding a solution. We are all aware of the serious investment made by pharmacies as regards business transacted and the valuable service delivered to local communities. In addition, there has been ongoing development of pharmacies, as there is a need to continue to invest heavily in them. We must also acknowledge that over 300 pharmacies have been created and extra staff have been employed because of competition in the sector. In that way, people get good value for money from such outlets. While remembering all this, the HSE, as the authority which will engage with pharmacies, needs, with the Government, to bring about the required solution.

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