Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last night a constituent brought a prescription for antibiotics to an out-of-hours chemist. The family has a medical card but because the prescribed medicine was out of stock, she was charged €17. This was for the very same medicine, amoxicillin. To add insult to injury, the medicine she received was made by an Irish company, Athlone Laboratories, in Roscommon. If that was not bad enough, the lady in front of her was also charged for her prescription. She was charged €54 with a medical card. People with medical cards can barely afford the reduced prescription charges let alone the actual cost. When will the Government act and ensure medicine shortages are addressed and the generic substitutes are covered under the General Medical Services, GMS? People are going without medication.

See this speech in context