Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

There is the reduction in the manner in which we pay pharmacists, which was introduced last summer. Again, that was opposed with both parties opposite arguing that it would close 400 pharmacies. It saves about €132 million a year. We negotiated a 39% reduction in off-patent medicines, which will save more than €100 million in a full year, and the last time the contract was negotiated, last year, with the pharmaceutical companies, more than €100 million a year was taken out of the sector.

The irony is that generics are more expensive on the Irish market than off-patent products.

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