Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

I welcome the Government's new community pharmacy agreement but, to be very clear, our independent pharmacists and communities have waited far too long for this kind of recognition. This agreement has good intentions but we in the Independent Ireland Party will not stand by and let it become another glossy plan that gathers dust while patients and pharmacists on the ground continue to struggle.

There are positives. Expanding the role of pharmacists to treat common conditions is just common sense. Allowing pharmacies to deliver more vaccinations and to support screening programmes brings care closer to the people. We welcome the increased training grants and the overdue commitment to digital prescribing and shared records. These steps will help ease the pressure on GPs and hospitals, something we have been calling for from day one.

The agreement falls short in key areas. The timelines are simply too slow. Pharmacists can prescribe for just eight conditions in 2025 and must then wait until 2027 or even 2030 for full authority. Patients do not have the time to wait. The Government boasts of fee uplifts, but what about independent rural pharmacies that are barely surviving? We saw this with the free HRT scheme. Pharmacies were left out of pocket and there was uncertainty for patients while the Department was scrambling at the last minute.

We need sustainability guaranteed. Pharmacists must at least break even on every State scheme or services will collapse. Rural GPs are closing. Out-of-hours services are stretched and hospitals are under siege. Pharmacies are often the last health service standing in a town or village. If the Government does not back them properly, it condemns rural patients to endless travel, higher costs and longer waits. I ask the Minister to build in stronger supports for rural pharmacies, which are doing an incredible job for so many communities. Do not make them an afterthought. What about medicine shortages? Families are going from pharmacy to pharmacy, desperate for essential medicines. The agreement mentions better stock visibility and substitution protocols. That is good, but these must be fast-tracked and not buried in working groups.

On accountability, there is no point in signing glossy agreements if the HSE is left unaccountable. The Independent Ireland Party has called for a watchdog with teeth, not another layer of bureaucracy. If the Minister signs off on commitments, she must personally ensure they are delivered on the ground. The Independent Ireland Party will support what is good in the agreement but we will push for faster delivery, fair funding and special protection for rural services because at the end of the day this is not about reports or strategies. It is about patients in west Cork, Limerick or Roscommon being able to walk into their local pharmacy and get the care they need.

On another health issue while I have the floor, I would like the Minister to please ensure Ava's protocol will be developed as a national policy, as recommended by the jury at Ava Barry's inquest. I wrote to the Minister about this earlier. I would appreciate her action and assistance in getting Ava's protocol up and running.

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