John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In the Taoiseach's absence last week, I spoke of the estimated 700,000 people who were affected by some degree of poverty - many were also affected by unemployment - and the health problems associated with being unemployed.

This week, I will touch on the latest statistics to the effect that between 10% and 15% of people with jobs are at risk of poverty.

I imagine it is much higher. They are now known as the working poor and are barely above the threshold for a medical card. Going to see a GP and purchasing a prescription could amount to a quarter of their weekly income. In ten years, GP fees in this country have risen from an estimated €20 to €55. Some GPs still charge €60. In France today a GP charges €22. We now have a situation where people are choosing between paying their mortgage and going to see a GP. Once again, it looks as though the banks are winning out over the welfare of ordinary people.

Because of the exorbitant costs of seeing a GP, two distinct trends are now emerging in the nation’s health. First, a huge volume of people are cutting back on medication and trying to stretch it out. The big examples relate to medication for blood pressure and cholesterol. Pharmacists now report that many people, including those with chronic ailments and conditions such as asthma and heart problems, take their medication every other day in order to save going to a GP and paying for the medicine. Does the Taoiseach agree that those two trends are a ticking time-bomb for the nation’s health?

Customs officials informed me that in a three-month period last year they seized 300,000 prescription drugs. The Taoiseach and I are both aware of the many people who bulk buy cholesterol tablets, inhalers and antibiotics in Spain. Does he consider it just and fair that when every other worker in the country has been asked to take a substantial pay cut and almost all workers have had no pay increase for five or six years, GPs and pharmacists rip off working people by charging exorbitant prices? Last week a lady in Waterford with a take-home pay of €397 who came to see me had paid €137 to a GP.

When will the Government commence the reform of competition and practice in the health sector, as set out in the memorandum of understanding with the troika? The Taoiseach has been most proactive in meeting other demands of the EU and IMF. When will the Government move to extend the role of pharmacists as part of the primary care network by introducing initiatives such as medicine-use reviews, repeat dispensing and switching more medicines from prescription-only to pharmacy-only?

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