Brendan Ryan (Labour)

The Minister has my sympathies if she received the list of amendments as late as the rest of us. It will be possible to have a pharmacy in the same premises as a medical practice but not with the same entrance. I am concerned not about medical aspects but about competition aspects. If one has a medical centre with a pharmacy in a country town, does its sheer accessibility not immediately threaten in terms of competition any other community pharmacies in the same town?

It is difficult to separate the belief in some type of competition. It may not be market-based competition. It may be quality of service or the fact people feel comfortable with one pharmacist more than another. It may be that women feel happier dealing with a female pharmacist about an issue and men feel more comfortable dealing with a male pharmacist. Is the Minister happy she will not introduce a major distortion in proper competition if functioning pharmacies are next door to a medical centre?

In country towns, an increasing tendency exists to have a single medical centre where all the GPs work. It is an improvement because it provides people with a range of services. However, a single pharmacy next door to it or beside it will have a negative effect on people's willingness to choose. If the number of other pharmacies declines, the long-term effect will be to create a quasi-monopoly. I do not need to tell the present Minister about the evils of monopolies. She made a good political career out of it.