Mary Henry (Independent)

The Competition Authority has been mentioned. While I can understand why the Minister would want to refer matters to the Competition Authority, the society should have sent its code of conduct to the Minister first. Thereafter, if the Minister believed it was necessary, she could have referred it to the Competition Authority.

The Bill does not mention recertification, on which the Minister was very keen in respect of the Medical Council. Drugs change almost hourly and I seem to have MIMS Ireland to hand continually, trying to look up drugs that are mentioned to me. While this may be a matter for the future, it will be an important issue for the Minister to address.

I am also concerned about the establishment of registers on the Internet. While openness and transparency are desirable, I am unsure whether the names of pharmacists and pharmaceutical assistants should be listed. I presume their addresses will not be included. Has the Minister discussed this proposal with the Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy? He spoke the other day about draft rules for pharmacies to try to improve safety. The lives of pharmacists and their assistants could be in danger because drug addicts do not merely want to get hold of illegal drugs. They also want perfectly legal ones, such as opiates, steroids, anxiolytics, any sort of analgesics and even codeine cough bottles. I am really concerned about including people's names like this because it would be all too easy to establish, for example, that a particular person would be the keyholder every third night. Moreover, apart from putting that person at risk, the risk of theft of drugs would be much higher. The Minister should reconsider this measure.

The Bill also makes some very good points that may be difficult for existing pharmacies to adhere to at present. I hope this will not mean they will be obliged to go out of business. For example, I refer to the requirement for a private area to which one could take a person to discuss his or her medication. While this is an excellent idea, I was in a pharmacy this afternoon in which it was obvious that the pharmacist wanted to talk privately to another person who was waiting for a prescription. While she did her best to take him to one side to talk, it would be very difficult for the pharmacy in question to acquire immediately a private area. One cannot bring people behind the counter to where the drugs are kept as that would be open to abuse all too easily. I hope existing pharmacies will not be closed down simply because they are unable to fulfil this requirement. They should be required to so do when they are being reconfigured or being built. However, such an obligation would be very onerous on them.

I welcome the Bill. I have prepared many amendments that I intend to table next Thursday and I hope the Minister will receive some of them very well.

It is important to emphasise the existence of those who are known as shadow directors. They have been problematic in the past in other businesses. When dealing with directors, managers and so forth, the Minister must ensure that shadow directors, that is, those who act as directors without being listed as such, are also dealt with. There is much money in the pharmaceutical business and a great deal of it could be at stake if one had people who were in any way involved with any sort of laissez-faire attitude towards what was going on there. The Minister should ensure that such people are also covered by these necessary regulations. I am sure they will be welcomed by the medical profession as well as the pharmaceutical profession. However, I am especially anxious that the Minister would provide clarity on the position in respect of prescribers and dispensers. This is a road we have never gone down before and I would like to see it made into a cul-de-sac.