Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

The first and most important thing is to take the steps forward to get this going. There was an inertia on that, if I may say, until recently. It has now been progressed and there are detailed negotiations to take the necessary steps forward. I would like to see this in place and operational and then be able to expand it appropriately. I have already said, I think, that the list of common conditions should be expanded. It is not going to be enough but it is no harm to get the practice under way as quickly as possible, make sure it is supported by the appropriate regulatory and training environment, and recognise that pharmacists themselves need more support and more pharmacists' assistants and technicians. They are working under pressure in different ways and need to build their own capacity to do this as well.

My vision for it is that is established, is working well and will be expanded as quickly as possible. Pharmacists are trusted and we need to expand this service as much as possible, recognising that will take that pressure off GPs. For an older woman, in particular, a urinary tract infection can be very dangerous. They need to be seen and diagnosed and get medication early rather than wait for a GP appointment. By moving that into pharmacy, it frees up that slot in a GP practice as well. It is a broader expansion and a good thing generally.

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