Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Who will be the losers? Where does the Minister believe they are located? Will they only be pharmacists? How many medical card holders and drug payment scheme dependants will be on this list of losers forecast by the Minister? Is there an analysis of the numbers of people who will have their current arrangements significantly displaced? What contingency arrangements have been considered, as requested by Age Action Ireland, representing older people, so that older people can access monthly or weekly prescriptions where pharmacies are forced to close or withdraw from the medical card and drug payment scheme? What consideration has the Minister and her colleagues in Cabinet given to the core issue for many Deputies? We have registered agreement on the need for a restructuring of the payment for medicines, which we all recognise as far too high. What address has the Minister given to the potential to legislatively overcome the block created by the Competition Act and the manner in which it affects engagement between the HSE and the IPU and the HSE and the Irish Dental Association, IDA? Is it within the gift of the Government to overcome the obstacle to ensure proper representative negotiation between the respective union associations, the representative bodies named?

Before Deputy Moloney leaves the Chamber I wish to refer to the motion read to members at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Health and Children on 13 February. Much has been made of it by different speakers. Nobody is attacking anyone but we are trying to establish why that motion did not become the substantive motion on 14 February as, in the view of this and other Deputies, it had the potential to move the situation forward. Is the Minister aware why the motion did not present itself on 14 February? Within its text it had the potential to unlock the difficulties.

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