Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I support the Minister for Health and Children on the pharmacists matter. It has been raised twice on the Order of Business by Senators Doherty and Ross. While I understand and approve of what the Minister is attempting to achieve, I do not understand what the row is about. It would be helpful for a debate on the issue to clarify certain matters. The Irish Pharmaceutical Union is not entitled to represent its members to discuss dispensing costs with the Health Service Executive because it would be in breach of competition laws. As I see it, the Competition Authority will sit down with the HSE and the Minister for Health and Children, both of whom have a consumer interest and are required to give fair value. This would protect the consumer. If a discussion among a Department, a State body and the pharmaceutical union about getting the best price for consumers is in breach of the competition legislation then the legislation is an ass and should be changed quickly. If that is the case, the consumer is losing out. I am not putting the case for the pharmacists, as I share the Minister's point of view on this issue.

I have discovered that pharmaceuticals, like cars in the European market, are placed at different wholesale prices from country to country. This continues almost 50 years after we began to establish the so-called common market. The EU Commissioner responsible for the Internal Market, Mr. Charlie McCreevy should examine this issue. We are being hammered at least in part because of the high wholesale cost of pharmaceuticals based on a price determined by the pharmaceutical companies. I believe it breaches European legislation and it is certainly in breach of the Treaty of Rome. I would like us to consider whether the competition authority legislation protects the consumer and examine the European competition legislation which seems to go against the principles of the common market.