Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Pharmacists are well able to stand on their own two feet and will approach this argument in a mature fashion. If the Taoiseach and the Minister are so sure of their figures, they should not have anything to fear from arbitration.

At yesterday's committee meeting it was made perfectly clear that the Indecon report, commissioned by the HSE, stated that there should not be any precipitate action. Although the Taoiseach says that the draft interim contract is to be implemented on 1 March, the committee was told yesterday that this was a voluntary interim contract but that the changes at stake would still be implemented by the HSE.

I ask the Taoiseach again what contingency arrangements are in place. Second, in order to bring some sanity and common sense to this stand-off, will the Taoiseach agree to the appointment of an independent arbitrator to consider how a reduction in costs can be achieved without affecting the delivery of services to people throughout the country? This process should be put off until such time as a competent arbitrator can make a recommendation — within a month, six weeks, two months or whatever date the Taoiseach decides.

When the committee and the HSE were questioned yesterday, they said that if the Minister was to say that she wanted this put back until 1 May, they would follow that direction. The same thing happened when she intended to introduce the long stay health institutions Bill on 1 January. When the Government recognised that there was a problem, it put back the introduction and implementation of that Bill and we still have not seen it. If there is a problem, it should be dealt with.

It is now two weeks and the clock is ticking in a situation where hundreds of thousands of people are concerned and anxious. In many cases, it is causing stress to elderly people because they fear they will not be able to get their medicines and prescribed drugs when they need them. There is a problem and a stand-off. The Taoiseach can deal with it by appointing an independent arbitrator and giving that person six weeks or two months to deal with it. If that happens, I am quite sure the matter can be resolved so that savings can be introduced without any disruption to the quality of the service that has been available for so many years to hundreds of thousands of people through community pharmacies. What are the Government's contingency plans and will the Taoiseach direct that an independent arbitrator be appointed?

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